Zechary Palm is in his fourth year leading the Cheerleading program after serving as the assistant coach for two seasons. Before coming to Waubonsee he was the assistant coach for both varsity and junior varsity cheerleading at Willowbrook High School in 2011-2012. Overall Palm brings over 20 years of experience as a cheerleader, high school coach, camp counselor and choreographer to Waubonsee. In addition, he is an American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) certified coach.

Palm graduated in 1998 from Round Lake High School where he was a Varsity cheerleader for three years. His junior and senior years the squad captured back-to-back state cheer titles in 1997 and 1998, becoming the first team in Round Lake High School history to win a state championship. In 2008 those squads were inducted into Round Lake’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Palm enrolled at Northern Illinois University (NIU) where he was a cheerleader for the Huskies’ football and basketball teams from 1998 through 2003. While there he was a part of NIU’s 2001 squad that grabbed a second place finish at the National Cheerleading Association Nationals in Daytona, Florida for Small Coed. Palm also competed on Super CDA’s (Cheer and Dance Association) open all-star team in 2000 and 2001, taking home first place trophies both years.

Palm earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering Technology from Northern Illinois University in 2003 and is currently employed as a Project Engineer. He lives in Elburn with his wife Vanessa and their two children.