- TVCC coach
Vontae Johnson got a congratulatory call from Navarro coachMonica Aldama after his team beat hers. - Johnson is competitive on "
Cheer " but told Insider he always respects his rivals "no matter what."
Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) cheerleading coach and "Cheer" star Vontae Johnson spoke to Insider about the call he received from Monica Aldama, who coaches the Navarro College cheer team, after Johnson's team beat hers at the National
"I did get a congratulations after the championship. We've always congratulated each other, but I've always congratulated the school and the cheer team as a whole," he said, adding that he has called her in previous years when her team beat his and would have done so again in 2021 if the results had been reversed.
On "Cheer" season 2, Johnson is open about the fact that he thrives on the tension of competition, but told Insider he always respects his rivals "no matter what."
The docuseries about college cheerleading was an unexpected hit when it debuted on
Trinity Valley is in Athens, Texas, just 45 minutes away from the city of Corsicana, where Navarro College is located. Rivalries don't get any more intense than between neighboring towns in Texas. The TVCC Cardinals were featured on season one of "Cheer," but Johnson previously told Entertainment Tonight that he limited the docuseries crew's access to his team because he didn't want his athletes distracted.
He told Insider that when the second chance to film came around, he welcomed it because he liked the way cheerleading was portrayed in the first season.
Although he's respectful, Johnson said he's very determined when it comes to building the routine that he hopes will beat Navarro every year.
"We go back and we watch our routines. We watch our competition's routines. We compare and contrast on things that we may need to make sure that we are in the same level, or if not higher, than our competition," he told Insider.
Johnson also credited his co-head coach Khris Franklin, who was an assistant coach at the time TVCC won Nationals, with their team's success. He called Franklin a secret weapon who really "understands the score sheet," which helps them maximize their scoring as they work off of his knowledge.
It paid off in 2021. Trinity Valley beat Navarro by 0.1584.
"Cheer" season two is available to stream now on Netflix.