Night of Spirit Teams

I just realized I haven't posted for a few days (my daughter had the stomach flu - ew! - and I managed to compose a few blogs in my head, but never made it to the computer to make them real . . . ah, the life of a mother/author/publisher/wife/woman/runner . . . )

 

Last night I had the honor of being a guest a special event at our local high school. "A Night to Remember" was put together by the school's Drill Team coach, Jenn, to bring the drill, dance, cheer, and flag teams together to perform award-winning routines for parents, friends and guests. As a former "pom" from my high school glory days (hahaha - I'm surprised my fingers would even type that!) it was a powerful experience to see these teams of girls having so much FUN, support one another and put on some really nice performances.

 

To sum it up, here's a Top 10 list of what I enjoyed about the night:

 

10. The parents of the seniors were recognized with their daughters, celebrating the power of family!

9. The girls escorted the VIPs and families to the seating area - nice touch!

8. Between routines there was a slide show showcasing each team at their events over the course of the school year

7. The middle school spirit camp participants got to perform with the teams at the end, showing off what they learned from each of the four teams

6. They all danced to music I recognized, making me feel young (or maybe they were dancing to "classics" and I should be worried??)!

5. Each team chanted enthusiastic and uplifiting cheers together before taking the floor to perform

4. The teams called out cheers of support for one another!

3. They held a fan-participating "drill down" for select parents/friends to experience the drill element of Drill Team (I had flashbacks to pom camp from my own drill down competitions)! What a hoot to see the dads doing "about face" "hand salutes" and "parade rest"!

2. If the girls were nervous about the event, it didn't show. They were all bouncing around, smiling and being themselves.

1. This was the first event of its kind and it was well-coordinated and received by all in attendance (even little kids, like the three year-old next to me, were spellbound by the routines and smiling older girls). It was FUN!!!

 

There is definitely contraversy about if the participants of spirit teams are athletes (I'll add links to some recent news articles to this later today - I hope!). If you had attended the event with me last night, you would see that these girls put hours and hours of physical work into learning, practicing, and polishing their performances. It takes athleticism, team work and determination to put together these routines. Even more impressive, though, was that these girls exuded confidence and satisfaction that being part of these teams is what they WANT to do and what they ENJOY doing. I wish I had been so lucky in my pom years.

 

Congrats to the athletes of the Cedarcrest High School spirit teams on a year of successful competitions, performances and sisterhood! Your family and school community should be proud of your accomplishments!