A cheer coach from Normal is facing dozens of felony charges for allegedly abusing athletes he met in the gym. Another has recently been sentenced to prison time, leaving parents to wonder: Who is responsible for keeping young athletes safe?
Andrew “Drew” Miller, 41, is accused of grooming, indecent solicitation and possession of child sexual materials in a case that was recently expanded to 56 counts. Prosecutors allege Miller routinely baited teenage boys he met through his dual roles as a teacher at Chiddix Junior High and a highly sought after cheerleading coach.
University High School attended the state finals during four of the eight years Miller coached the squad. His employment ended in October 2019 after allegations he engaged in an inappropriate conversation with a minor during a school-sanctioned trip to a cheer camp in LaSalle County.
That didn’t stop Lexington High School from bringing Miller on as a volunteer coach for its cheer squad in 2024. Superintendent Paul Deters sent a statement to WGLT saying District 7 placed Miller on administrative leave on Feb. 24, 2026, when it "first learned of the allegations towards Mr. Miller." He was fired three days later.
“At this time, Lexington CUSD #7 does not have any information indicating that any Lexington CUSD #7 students have been affected,” the statement said.
Schools hire coaches. IHSA certifies them
The statewide body governing high school athletics told WGLT it isn’t responsible for hiring and vetting coaches. That’s the school’s job, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois High School Association [IHSA]. The organization declined WGLT’s requests for an interview.
As a lab school of Illinois State University, coaches at University High School go through background checks and other hiring practices with the university’s human resources department. Once a coach is cleared to be hired, U-High Director of Athletics and Activities Steve Evans said coaches must have a valid Illinois teaching license or a coaching certificate through the American Sport Education Program [ASEP].
The certification involves self-paced independent study of coaching techniques and sports first aid. An exam must be completed within 12 months from the date the course was purchased.
“Once the individuals pass that test—again, these are individuals who do not have a education certification—then we can look them up as athletic directors and we know they’re compliant for IHSA,” Evans said.
Continuing education is not required to maintain the certificate.
According to the IHSA website, college students assigned student coaching as part of their official student teaching assignment and retired coaches who previously worked at an IHSA member high school requiring a teaching license do not need to be certified.
Evans, a former vice principal at U-High, became the school's athletic director in 2020. He said athletic directors can also request references to vet coaches. Miller does not have a criminal record—he was not charged in the 2019 incident, but a Google search might have turned up red flags urging Lexington to think twice.
“He’s bad news and I’ve known that from the minute that I met him,” said Kent Simmons, a former cheerleading and gymnastics coach who succeeded Miller at U-High.
Deters did not directly respond to a request for more information about how and why Miller was brought on at Lexington.
Duties and ethics
Evans said U-High coaches have an annual meeting and a handbook that lays out coaching objectives and a code of ethics.
“As coaches, we have the duty to plan, we have a duty to instruct properly, the duty to condition properly, the duty to maintain safe playing conditions, the duty to select, train and supervise your coaches…”
Evans also lists proper equipment, access to transportation, athlete assessment and supervision and emergency care among coaches’ responsibilities, as well as developing an emergency response plan.
“Part of my job is to observe my coaches and make sure that we’re fulfilling those duties and we’re providing a safe environment for our student athletes,” Evans said.
Evans said coach supervision includes a blend of quantitative and qualitative data, including parent surveys and evaluations by administrators and head coaches for each sport.
Evans said coaches are required to complete mandated reporter training, which teaches them to identify signs of abuse and neglect and report to the state Department of Children and Family Services. He said policies surrounding how, when and where to communicate with minors is shared in staff meetings.
“I always talk to my coaches about, if they’re going to talk to students, same gender or opposite gender, always to have an assistant coach… to be with me when I’m having those conversations,” he said. “That way, there’s multiple witnesses in a room.”
Evans said coaches are also cued on how to communicate with student athletes when there is physical contact involved as a coaching tool. In cheer, which often requires spotting or assistance with stunts and tricks, Evans said he’s added coaches in the past several years and ensures there are both male and female coaches on the squad.
“That way there’s multiple eyes for safety, because cheer is obviously an intense sport where individuals have a higher risk of being injured,” he said.
Evans said coaches need to be able to communicate directly with student athletes, but he encourages them to add parents to any contacts with students. They can access parents through the school’s scheduling tool. A lot of coaches use a group app like Remind. Others prefer email.
Evans said he recommends coaches avoid contacting students directly through social media, before or after they graduate.
Too much trust
Simmons said Evans is a “phenomenal” athletic director, despite working with him for only a few months.
In their initial conversations, Simmons said Evans expressed trusting him fully to “get things turned around” for the U-High squad after Miller’s departure.
“I said, ‘Steve, you should never trust anybody wholly,’” Simmons said. “That’s what got Drew into this situation. He had a great background, he had a winning history, he had great rapport with parents. And all of the charismatic things that make people like someone lets them go even more and more unchecked.”
Simmons said he copied Evans on every communication with parents and students and asked Evans to come to practice as often as possible. He asked for that level of supervision, he said, as much for his protection as the kids’.
“All it takes is one accusation for someone’s life to be ruined,” he said. “Why would you as a coach want to put yourself in any possible spot that you could possibly be questioned—especially alone with a student or athlete?”
Simmons said administrators could do more to check in with parents and kids by dropping into more practices unannounced. It was on him to implement and enforce an accountability structure.
“I always had that mental awareness of—never be alone with a student.”
Simmons said his short tenure at U-High was partly because Miller was still communicating with parents and athletes, making it difficult to change the culture on the team. Miller also had backers at the IHSA, Simmons said, which meant running into him at state championships—something Simmons said “terrified” athletes he worked with at another school.
“I’m sorry, whether you’re found innocent or not, I would never put somebody in the place that there might be something that happens,” he said. “I was kind of loud about how I felt about Drew and he made himself very scarce when I was around. He loves getting people to trust him and then he powerplays on them.”
In a statement, the IHSA "unequivocally denies having any knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of Andrew Miller at University High School."
The organization said Miller volunteered at the state finals for several years but "was never in a role that would have placed him alone with student-athletes or any other individuals."
"We find the allegations surrounding Miller to be abhorrent and will continue to work with member schools and state leaders in any way we can to keep student-athletes in Illinois safe," the statement said.
Open gym
Like any other employer, a private cheerleading gym would conduct its own hiring process, including a background check, and put policies in place to protect youth training in the gym.
According to Russ Berndt, the owner of Technique Tumbling and Cheer Prep in Normal, Brady Stoewer was a “model employee” during the nearly five years he worked for the gym. Stoewer has been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison after admitting he fondled a 17-year-old girl he coached at the gym.
During the sentencing hearing, Berndt said he’d had at least two conversations with Stoewer about not communicating directly with clients through Snapchat before firing him when allegations of abuse arose. Berndt testified that he had policies in place to protect kids at the gym, including a rule that two adults must be in the gym any time a minor is there. Berndt said he has instituted a SafeSport protocol for all coaches at the gym since Stoewer’s arrest.
Another private gym that has since closed, Rising Stars Academy in Bloomington, is where prosecutors say Drew Miller met some of his victims. Unlike Stoewer, Miller wasn’t employed by the gym but, according to social media posts, invited U-High athletes to attend open gym with him.
Open gym are public sessions where coaches and youth can pay a day rate, sign in and train. And because Miller was a well-known school coach with a valid teaching license, this likely would not have raised any red flags.
During cross-examination, Berndt, who owned Rising Stars during the period Miller attended open gym there, affirmed a statement by defense attorney Adam Ghrist claiming the coaches at Technique are not mandated reporters.
According to the DCFS website, however, “any person responsible for the child’s welfare, such as a health care provider, educator, coach or youth program volunteer,” should be trained to spot abuse and neglect and report incidents, even if they involve a colleague or employee.
A DCFS spokesperson directed WGLT to this language, which is from the Abused and Neglected Reporting Act, adding it will not comment on active criminal proceedings.
WGLT made several attempts to interview Berndt, who has stopped responding to messages.
Miller is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 11. Stoewer is awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
