Cheer, Dance, Drumline inspire spirit at pep rally along with games
By Shenba Vairavan
The dance team, drumline, and cheer team had their biggest spotlight moment of the
year on Oct. 28 during the Homecoming Game and Pep Rally. This was the first time the three teams have performed in front of the whole school.
The dance team has a new choreographer, Tania Possick, who joined Sierra Canyon after her student Caroline Zaelke (‘18) introduced it to her.
With 6 a.m. practices and additional weekend time, students appreciate that the coaches are hardworking and holding them to a challenging schedule.
“I was not confident with my dancing skills at first, however, the coaches and my teammates cheer me up all the time and help me a lot. I love the feeling of being in such a warm family and I am glad to see everyone is helping each other,” Zaelke said.
In order to drum up school spirit, the drum team practices early in the morning. Freshman, Sam Sachnowitz (‘20) is the only ninth grader on the team and after choosing to take it up, he found his passion.
“It’s a lot of fun, but a lot of work. We practice every Wednesday at 5:45 a.m. At first, I wasn’t eager to do this, but now I’m wondering why I didn’t want to do drumline in the first place,” Sachnowitz (20’) said.
Justin Mandel (‘18), has been on the drumline previously and says he loves the sport because he loves to bring pep to the audience. The pep comes from the beat of the drum, which was written by instructor, Tyler Smith.
“We practice material provided by our instructor Tyler Smith. He writes out the beats and teaches them to us. It is really fun and I love it! It’s lovely to play for a large audience that appreciates pep” Mandel said.
Along with the dance team, the cheer team performed at the rally and game. The cheerleaders practice intensely for the year and ended their busiest season with a bang.
“Football season is probably the most intense; they’re performing essentially every week. This year we have increased our skill and grew in size. Since, my kids from last year came back we became a lot stronger and doing a lot more stunts.” Cheer Coach Shelby Kaiser said.
The size of the team has doubled and so has their skill because of their increased practice time. This year they are doing the hardest and most complex stunts that couldn’t have happened before. Brianna Oard (‘17) is the only senior that has participated in cheer all four years of high school and is getting honored at senior night along with the three other seniors on the team: Emma Hirsch (‘17), Alina Aslanian (‘17), and Ila Azarkman (‘17).
“Our homecoming routine was incredible and a great way to end my last high school homecoming game,” Oard said.