As many of you may know, our poms team went 2nd in sectionals and went on to go 5th in state. Their state-qualifying performance consisted of a more lyrical jazz routine. It was choreographed to a Beyonce mix. As Keely Flis (12), captain of the varsity poms team put it, “It’s a routine that shows our beauty, strength and flexibility.”

Preparing for this performance began during the noncompetitive football season. During this time the team was able to not only condition and gain strength, but come together as a team and develop a sense of synchronization. Their conditioning includes sets of running, squats, ab workouts, and weight lifting. Also, everyone on the team is a part of a special technique class, which further trains their strength and flexibility. For the poms team, preparing for state began in August.

Before a competition, the team does a few things to warm up. This includes stretching and a re-run of the routine. The girls are able to motivate themselves, and get into a huddle and boost each other’s confidence. To prepare for sectionals, the team narrowed their routine down to the one they felt they performed best and kept repeating it. Through countless hours of practice, they were able to perfect it and reach a 5th place title at state.

Let’s take a look at the person responsible for organizing the whole team, Mrs. Richards. Mrs. Richards has been the coach at Vernon Hills High School for four years, three have which have ended up in the team going to state. Before that, she was a varsity coach at Stevenson for a year and a year volunteering at Conant. With all this experience, it is no wonder coaching for our poms team has been such a success.

Unfortunately, a team consisting of about half seniors means a lot of our varsity pommers will not be a here next year. Since, eight out of the fourteen dancers on the current team will be off the college, next year will be a huge adjustment. By loosing all these seniors the team is losing a lot of its current leadership. Mrs. Richards feels confident that more experienced varsity members like Josie Amidei (11) and Kim Kamman (11) who have been on the varsity team since freshman year will be able to help the new varsity members next year.

For next year, Mrs. Richards plans on using a less lyrical routine. One with a faster tempo, and less of a jazz influence. As Mrs. Richards put it, “It all boils down to whatever will get the best score.”