As the Sartell Dance Team season officially starts, so do the teams goals and endless motivation to make every second of practice count.
The Dance Team ended last season feeling accomplished and fired up for the 2026 season. During the state tournament on Friday February 14, Sartell’s 2025 Varsity Jazz Team made it into finals and placed 6th with their dance “Don’t Speak.” On Saturday February 15, Sartell’s 2025 Varsity Kick Team made it into prelims finishing in 4th, and for finals finished 3rd making history for SSDT. It was our first ever medal in AAA with the dance “Let’s Go Girl’s.” All of this would not have been possible without the head coach Kelly McCarney.
Kelly has been coaching the team since 2001. This season is her 24th season. As the head coach, she has led the team to 20 consecutive state tournament appearances. Kelly helped her team to seven state High Kick Championships and one state Jazz Championship.
Outside of coaching the team, she is an RN and works at the St. Cloud Hospital. She is married to Nick and has two children. Many alumni who have been on the team still carry on Kelly’s legacies and morals.
Kelly has taught each and every dancer the importance of being on time; in-fact her motto is “Early is on time, on time is late.” Because of this, many girls on the team have grown not only as dancers but as a human being. Kelly has displayed the importance of what a team really is. She has helped foster confidence in each team member through countless practices and has inspired everyone to always give 100% in everything, no matter the day.
Sartell Dance Team Alumni, Lola Sens who now dances at the University of Minnesota – Duluth, shared that she has brought Kelly’s motivation with her to college: “She has taught me how to carry myself with grace, no matter a win or a loss.”
This is incredibly true, as Kelly has made it her mission to teach her dancers to hold their heads high even when the cards don’t fall the way they might want them to and to do it with a smile on their faces. Lola Sens also stated that Kelly taught her to “look for glory because it will find you when you are seeking it.”
Sartell Dance Team Alumni Lily Warnert said she still stands by a life lesson Kelly taught her: “If you don’t believe in yourself you’ve already sold the bag.” This is a motto Kelly is constantly preaching. She says that the coaches can’t want it more. The TEAM must want it more.
The juniors on the leadership team, spoke frankly about what makes Kelly such an amazing coach. Captain Morgan Winters shared, “Kelly is a coach that inspires me every day. Her determination to make us better is unmatched, and she continues to push me to be my best. Her dedication for this team is so appreciated and her commitment for the SSDT is just amazing. My favorite memory with Kelly is definitely state 2025. Placing third for the first time in AAA was life changing, and we couldn’t have accomplished that without her. At state, she works so hard to make us better, and we appreciate the love she has for us.”
Kylie Hedtke is also a junior captain. She talks about how Coach Kelly is a role model for her: “Kelly is one of the most dedicated and passionate people I know. She shows up every day and pours so much of her love and time into this team to make sure we all can succeed, improve, and perform to the best of our abilities.”
Every year at the senior retreat, the team chooses a motto to focus for the year; this year the seniors picked Prove It. This means it’s up to the dancers to prove to each other, to the coaches, to the competition, and even to themselves that each dancer can do whatever she pushes herself to do. This year, the hope is that the whole team can prove it to everyone that this team IS Sartell and that they deserve an indefinite spot in class AA.
