By Lauren Cosca ’15

After football season ends and basketball takes over as the Friday night sport, the lives and daily routines of the Sherwood Pom squad change as well. It is that time of the year for the annual “Pompetitions” and the Pom squad has been cracking down and practicing two hours a day, five days a week.

The squad maintains an average GPA of 3.5 even with the long and hard practices every day. “It is worthwhile since we are all so passionate about what we do. The stress level is pretty strong since we set the bar so high in not just Poms but in our schoolwork,” said junior Emma Nichols.

Their squad’s routine is a five-minute-long combination of many genres that takes much practice and hard work. Placing second at counties last year, the Pom squad put pressure on themselves to impress the judges and wow the crowd. With the routine finished a month in advance, all that’s left for the girls to do is clean and sharpen.

Weeks before the competitions started, the team already had won the Universal Dance Association (UDA) 2013 American School Spirit Award. The award was given to the Warriors’ pom squad due to their dedication to Sherwood, and the community. UDA also sponsors the camp the  poms attend during the summer.

In the squad’s competition at the Jaguar Invitational at Northwest High School on January 11, the squad won the Choreography award for the best choreography. The squad took 2nd place in the team competition, with Blake winning the event. Senior Bailey Greseth took 2nd place in the Captain’s category.

At the Damascus Hornet Invitational on January 18, the squad and their supportive fans were disappointed when Sherwood did not place in the top three. “The results gave us the incentive to work harder and push more leading up to counties,” said sophomore Laura Intoccia. The girls will be plenty motivated for the Montgomery County Competition on February 1 at Richard Montgomery.

Instead of the usual 24 teenage dancers hitting the floor, this year Sherwood’s squad only has 18 girls. With two injures during football season to juniors Lauralyn Heon and Jillian Tuttle, the active squad was cut to 16. A third injury to junior Morgan Offord suffered in practice led to only 15 girls preforming in the 2nd competition. “We can’t hide anyone. Everyone needs to be their best,” Greseth said.

Sherwood’s selection of competition music for Sherwood stayed away from mainstream choices and instead when with surprising music that did not bore the crowd. According to members of the squad, the team is better than last year.

“There is a lot of new technique, and we are all working very hard,” said Greseth. Sherwood’s Pom squad competes in division one against rivals Blake and Magruder, who both will be tough to beat at the county competition. Coach Jeaane Laeng always reminds the girls that they are not only a team, but a sisterhood. “We’re going to give it our all and leave everything on the floor,” said senior Kimberly Vielhaber.