5 Things

Monica Aldama: 5 Things To Know About The ‘Cheer’ Coach Competing On ‘DWTS’

Monica Aldama
ABC
DANCING WITH THE STARS - ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" stars Tyra Banks. (ABC/Laretta Houston)
DANCING WITH THE STARS - "Finale" – Four celebrity and pro-dancer couples dance and compete in the live season finale where one couple will win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy, MONDAY, NOV. 23 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC/Eric McCandless) KAITLYN BRISTOWE, ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV
DANCING WITH THE STARS - "Finale" – Four celebrity and pro-dancer couples dance and compete in the live season finale where one couple will win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy, MONDAY, NOV. 23 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC/Eric McCandless) ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV, KAITLYN BRISTOWE
DANCING WITH THE STARS - "Semi-Finals" - With only a week left before the finals, six celebrity and pro-dancer couples will dance and face double elimination as they compete for this season's tenth week live, MONDAY, NOV. 16 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC/Eric McCandless) JOHNNY WEIR, BRITT STEWART View Gallery View Gallery 45 Photos.
Entertainment Director

Monica Aldama is headed from the cheer mat to the ballroom. The beloved cheer coach from the hit Netflix docuseries is ready for ‘DWTS’ season 29 to be her next big win.

Dancing With the Stars season 29 has one major competitor on its hands: Monica Aldama. The 50-year-old coach is best known for leading the Navarro College cheerleading team to victory in Netflix’s Cheer. Now she’s a contestant on DWTS and has her eyes on her next trophy: the mirrorball trophy. So, who is Monica Aldama? HollywoodLife has rounded up 5 key things to know about her.

1. Monica became a household name after the release of the Netflix docuseries Cheer. The docuseries was released in Jan. 2020 and followed head coach Monica and her Navarro College cheerleaders as they worked for their 2019 national championship win. Cheer wowed us with incredible stunts and routines but also showed the reality of cheerleading with injuries, off-the-mat issues, and tough decisions made by Monica.

Monica Aldama
Monica Aldama is the head coach of Navarro College cheerleading. (Netflix)

2. She has coached the Navarro College cheerleading team for 25 years. She began working as the coach at Navarro in 1995. Since her reign at Navarro started, Monica has brought home 14 National Cheer Association (NCA) Junior College Division National Championships and five Grand National Titles in competition at Daytona Beach, Florida. Navarro College currently holds the record for the highest score in history at NCA College Nationals. Monica was inducted into the Navarro College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

3. Monica is happily married with kids! She is married to Chris Aldama. They have two kids together: Austin and Ally.

Monica Aldama
Monica Aldama with Navarro College cheerleader La’Darius Marshall. (Netflix)

4. She initially didn’t think she’d be a cheer coach. Monica saw herself as the CEO of a company in New York, according to her Hall of Fame bio. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.B.A. in Finance and the University of Texas at Tyler with a Master of Business Administration. On a whim, she decided to apply for the Navarro College cheer coach position and hasn’t left.

5. She is incredibly close to so many of her cheerleaders from over the years. Monica is always posting photos of Navarro College cheerleaders past and present. Monica calls her cheerleaders “family.”