While Friday, September 8 was Linganore High School’s (LHS) first football game of the season, it was also the first LHS poms performance of the season!
Poms is a group of girls who perform during every halftime at home football games and at pep rallies. It is a mix between dance, cheer, and the most essential part, poms, which requires a blend of technique, structure and attitude.
Every poms team needs a captain and co-captains to lead the team. This year, senior Vanessa Linton is the poms captain. As a captain, she has many responsibilities.
“The most important responsibility to me is making everyone on the team feel welcomed,” Linton said. “I make it a priority to make people feel comfortable with asking questions and addressing concerns. I love being able to give others advice, [and] they can always come to me with any issues, in school or personal.”
Team bonding is also a big part of what makes a team. Junior Charley Grim values this bond and believes going to National Dance Academy (NDA) camp is the best way to keep the team’s bond strong.
“Going to NDA really helps the team get closer together because we are rooming together for four days straight,” Grim said. “We are also pushed out of our comfort zones while having to do fun weird exercises together. After camp, I feel very close with the rest of the team.”
Team building is not the only key for a successful poms performance. It also takes patience, practice and dedication from everyone on the team, including the captains. The captions work together for hours after a school day to mix music and choreograph the dances.
Also instrumental in the team’s performance is coach Paula Richardson, a social studies teacher at LHS. She makes sure everyone knows the dance and techniques, while also ensuring everyone has a good time.
“Once everyone dances by memory, we go through the dance and make sure that each and every second of every count of the dance is at the same level and has strong arms,” said Richardson. “Then we run it over and over again to get that muscle memory and make sure it is performance level.”
Richardson says she sees so much pride and dedication on a team full of amazing girls.
To learn more about the team and their season schedule, check out their Instagram page.
