Megan Lawson is the current coach of the Swoopin' Ospreys Dance Team at the University of North Florida. Lawson took over the dance team after the founder, Allison Donley graduated in the summer of 2021. Donley founded the team in 2018 after transferring from the University of Central Florida. Lawson joined the team early in the team’s life and became a trusted companion of Allison. She was then entrusted to take over the team at the start of the season in Fall 2021. The team has already begun performing at volleyball games and they plan on performing during basketball season and even competing in several competitions this year. Lawson details the process of taking over the team and transitioning from dancer to coach exclusively.
Megan was a dancer before college, and she decided it was time to get a new perspective on performing as the coach. Lawson explains how proud she is of the team this year that she gets to help improve each and every practice. Megan Lawson also explains the process of taking over the team while in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. She outlines the precautions the team has been taking to stay safe and still be able to perform regularly. Making the team be a successful group requires more than just teaching dance; it is about keeping the team healthy and scheduling performances, buying costumes and makeup, and even renting studio space for practices. Megan has taken on a lot, but the team is thriving, tripling in size from last semester. The routine that they are performing this year is intense and quite difficult, and conditioning to prepare has been a focus of Lawson as they warmed up for the volleyball game on Sunday night. She has made the team her own and is excited to see where they can take the talent next.