Are you ready for it? Sweethearts started their competition season strong on Feb. 17, taking home total of 19 awards with soloist, duet, and team performances. Their team and officer song choices all follow the theme of Taylor Swift, so ‘Call it what you want’ but this competition has already set a high standards for the team moving forward.
This first competition gave a new member a chance to excel outside of just her category, taking home first place overall.
“I won first place for solos in the small group category,” freshman Katie Cruz said. “And I won overall for all the solos throughout every group, from extra small to super large team.”
Cruz knows ‘All Too Well’ how much work it takes to improve a routine, and she dedicated a great deal of time to developing her skills for this competition.
“Every weekend I took part of my sunday out and I worked on myself,” Cruz said. “I worked on getting my technique better, getting my tricks better, and I spent an hour to two a day working on my solo and improving what I needed.”
This contest inspired more confidence as the girls supported one another and for returning members on the team, this competition gave them a chance to reflect on their competitions last year and how they’ve grown.
“Last year I was really nervous because it was my first competition season and first time competing against different schools,” junior Andrea Harvey said. “But this year I felt more confident in myself [due to] my teammates supporting me and already having gone through the experience of a competition season, I knew what to expect.”
Their competition routines show more of what the Sweethearts are capable of outside of their game day performances in the fall.
“I think our awards show that we’re really hard working an we’re more than just football routines,” Harvey said. “They’re not easy, and we’re more than just what they see in fall on the football field.”
This competition was an improvement from how the team began their competition season last year where they didn’t experience the same initial success.
“I feel like we’re starting off strong already,” junior Lily Cross said. “We got third place overall and I feel like we’re going to use that to work to be better and get higher scores, compared to last year where we started off on the lower end and really had to work to get higher.”
Their accomplishments are certainly a source of ‘Happiness’ for Cross, as the progress they’ve made would’ve made proud her last year.
“Last year it was a lot more stressful,” Cross said. “I feel like we weren’t as prepared last year as we are this year. So I feel like I’d be proud of how far we’ve come and where I am.”
There are an array of components that go into improving a team, aside from just rehearsing. Sweethearts regularly spend time together outside the dance room, helping to cultivate their bond and make them work together more fluidly.
“I know some teams don’t hang out outside of practice, but it is a big deal to spend time together outside of this space to try and see each other’s personalities outside of dance,” senior Eleanor Mcdonald said. “It’s fun to see how everybody acts while they’re not dancing, and if you don’t have a good bond as a team then you can’t dance all together, and that shows on the score sheet.”
This work pays off and shows in the strides they’ve made as a team in their technical skills. Mcdonald has seen massive improvements in the Sweetheart’s abilities as a team in the four years she’s been a part of the program.
“The dances are way harder compared to my freshman and sophomore year,” Mcdonald said. “I’m proud of how far the team has gone. Comparing the technique that was in the dances: we have team doubles, there’s a group that does a la secondes, and we have a few aerials that we definitely didn’t have a few years ago, so that’s a big accomplishment.”
