As the winter sports season comes to a close, the WJ Pompons squad holds a positive attitude towards the future. This year could be considered a rebuilding year for the Pompons, as this year’s team saw an influx of many new team members, following the last academic year when the team lost six graduating seniors.

Senior captains Shiri Brodsky and Adrianne Ali reflect on the season and their years on Poms, as they prepare the leave the team in the hands of junior captain Rachael Hayes, along with coaches Sarah Leng and Demmy Venit.

During both the fall and winter sports seasons, the Pompons, or “Poms” squad, brought continuous spirit to school functions and events during varsity football and basketball home games.

To the student body, the Poms team may be best known for their halftime performances and pep rally exhibitions. But according to Brodsky, Poms is an intense sport requiring commitment from each and every member.

“Learning new routines almost every week, not to mention choreographing them, takes a lot of work and dedication,” said Brodsky.

She, along with Ali and Hayes, are responsible for cutting music and creating choreography for new routines each week. Hayes said the choreography process is one of the most time-consuming aspects of the team.

“It’s long, that’s for sure,” said Hayes. “We have to cut music, which takes a while to make sure all the music flows together, and then we spend pretty much all of one day choreographing.”

During football season, the team learns a new, three minute routine each week. But during competition season, the routines may be up to six minutes. Additionally, the content of the routine varies with the type of performance. Ali said that for football and basketball games, they use “crowd pleasing” elements, which use more of the Poms’ signature pompons. But for competitions, the routine will typically involve more technical dance skills. Instead of pleasing the crowd, the captains will try to impress the judges with their competition choreography.

“A typical Poms routine involves a section of Pom [work] which is more of the technique and dance aspect, Wave and Snake which is more about effects, hip hop and kicks,” said Brodsky. “We like to include many skills such as Russians, calypsos, pirouettes and leaps throughout our routines to keep it challenging and fun for the girls.”

Apart from time spent by the captains choreographing routines, the entire team holds two-hour practice sessions approximately three times a week after school during football season and up to five times a week after school during competition season.

“Things sort of slow down in competition season when we focus instead on only one routine,” said Brodsky.

Hayes added that football season and pep rallies are more fun and competition season more serious. However, Hayes enjoys competitions for a different reason.

“Competitions are so much fun, when you’re out there and you hear a big supporting crowd,” she said.

Ali also emphasized the importance of working as a team during practices.

“It’s not like one of those individual teams where you work on your individual goal; we all perform as one,” she said. “We’re as strong as our weakest dancer. No one’s supposed to stand out.”

This year’s team is composed of 13 girls: Freshmen Rachel Allen and Sabrina Clarke, sophomores Arielle George, Bryce Gudelsky and Danielle Shapiro, juniors Tamar Chukrun, Sarah Sull and Hayes and seniors Kate Barner, Elena Johnson, Natalia Peredo, Ali and Brodsky. Junior Marisa Gilman was also on the squad during the fall, but did not come back for the winter season.

“This year we have girls from each grade, and throughout the year we’ve definitely grown closer together and worked harder all together,” she said. “The year always starts off [with] people more separated, but then we all come together and bond, so that’s nice.”

Ali and Brodsky, who will be graduating this coming spring, recalled memories from past years on Poms, and look forward to their futures.

Last year, in 2011, the team placed once in one of the three competitions. Although this year, Poms did not place in any of their competitions, Ali remembers her sophomore year, when WJ Poms won the MCPS County Championships in 2010.

“That was incredible. Everyone was bawling,” she said.

Ali also related that feeling to the emotions in videos of older pom performance.

“[It’s just like] watching old football games and hearing the crowd cheering like that. Nostalgia right there.”

On the other hand, Brodsky, who has been a member of the squad since her sophomore year, described the knowledge she will take away from this experience. She said that in addition to leadership experience, she will also take away friendships, which are a huge part of the reason she loves poms. Brodsky also intends to continue dance in college, depending on which school she ends up attending.

While leaving Poms will be hard, Ali said that next year’s team will be in good hands under Hayes’ leadership.

“Rachael will do a good job because she’s seen from her years of experience how the dynamic, technique wise, really affects [the team],” she said. “So I think she’ll spend a lot of time teaching the girls and getting everyone on the same level.”

Hayes, who joined Poms last year when she was a sophomore, said that although this year was a lot of fun choreographing with Brodsky and Ali, she is anxious about leading the team next year.

“I’m really nervous, I want to make sure that we do better than this year, and I want to make sure that the girls are closer,” she said. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”

Currently, with their competitive season over, the poms are already preparing for the next year. The girls are in the process of teaching routines to one another, which will help them determine who to nominate for a junior captain spot next year.

Brodsky acknowledged the fact that next year will also be another rebuilding year, but she has positive thoughts towards the new members-to-be.

“It is intimidating to think of, but I am certain that the new girls next year will all integrate and form really strong friendships with the rest of the team- just as we always do,” she said.

In the meantime, the three captains encourage students to try out for next year’s team. Tryouts typically take place near the end of the school year.

Hayes, who was an ice dancer before joining poms, advised anyone interested in trying out to do so. Ali, who also had dance experience coming into poms, added that prospective members should try to get some dance technique basics before tryouts begin, either from a dance class or a current Pom.

“A lot of students come into clinics not knowing anything and [they] get discouraged,” she said.

Like Ali, Brodsky has been dancing since she was very young. She agrees with Ali, saying that although formal dance training is not necessary, asking a team member for tips or looking up required dance skills online could help. Some of these mandatory elements include Russians, calypsos, axels, pirouettes, tilts and leg holds. A complete list of skills is available online, along with other tryout information.

Overall, these captains say that being a part of Poms has been a very positive experience.

“I know my freshman and sophomore years, I was always the one who was more quiet,” she said. “I couldn’t really see myself being captain, but now I need to be part of that, I need to be putting in my input and telling them what to do.”

Brodsky says that Poms has been a growing experience for her, and that she couldn’t imagine what her her high school life would be without the team.

“[I like] feeling like I belong to something at WJ, I really love it and I love having a team,” Hayes said.