Ruff Named New Cheer Coach

When Brianna Ruff was the cheerleading coach at Hampton University, the team at Virginia Peninsula Community College often attended its events to learn what goes into making a successful program. Now, Ruff has the chance to learn more of an impact on the VPCC team after being name the College's new cheer coach.

"She did a good job of coaching at Hampton University, and I've been impressed by the work that she's done," said Chris Moore, VPCC's athletics director and men's basketball coach.

Ruff was born and raised in Hampton Roads, having graduated from Kecoughtan High School. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Hampton University and a master's in counseling from Liberty University. She cheered for three years at Kecoughtan and at HU.

While VPCC has had a cheer team for a number of years, Ruff wants to increase the talent and skill level, with an eye toward competitive events.

"I'm going to be looking to see what might be available to the girls," she said.

Her first assignment is to gauge the talent level of her team members, but she doesn't want to push them to much in the beginning.

"If they are not ready to compete yet, it's not something I would want to put on the docket, but it's definitely something I'm open to," she said.

Moore likes that attitude, and noted Ruff's background in marketing and branding, she works in marketing for Sentara Health, is a great asset. He also noted she's a pillar in the community.

"I'm just really excited about what she can bring to our cheer program," Moore said. "Everybody who's been involved in the cheer program in the past has done a good job of getting it to this point, but I think she's going to take it to another level."

For more information on VPCC, visit www.vpcc.edu.