The Sterling High School poms team returns for another season of competing. The team has been working since October on their competition dance. This year the team is doing an upbeat Latin Jazz dance to the song “Bailar” by Deorro.

 When the team held tryouts, six people made the team, making it smaller than past years. This year, the team had certain requirements to make the team such as having a certain skill set of second turns and double or triple turns   

  This year the team placed fourth at the Webonise Valley Invitational on December 10. The team goes to this competition weeks in advance to get feedback on the dance to perfect it for sectionals.   

  The S.H.S. poms team is also going to the Kewanee Invitational on December 17, the Fieldcrest Invitational January 14, and sectionals which will take place on January 21. 

  The team has to place in the top six at sectionals to be able to qualify for the first round of State which takes place in Bloomington on January 27. Teams who make it to the first round will perform against 30 other teams that have qualified to state. At the end of the day, the top 12 teams  will move on to the next round which is the finals on January 28.

  Last year the team came in fourth at the Webonise Valley invitational, first in the Kewanee Invitational, fourth at the Fieldcrest Invitational, and 10th at the Fieldcrest Sectionals.

At sectionals the team got a score that was 2.98 points off from being able qualify for state. 2.98 points in the dance world is a lot even if it may not seem like it. This year the team is hoping to put up a fight and place in the top six at sectionals to earn their spot at state. 

 When talking to assistant coach Kassidy Kenney about how the team prepared for this season, Kenny stated, “I think we have prepared for this upcoming season by starting out with a high standard for the requirements to be on the team. We also pulled in knowledgable judges who didn’t know the girls auditioning to make it fair and have their assistance in picking a strong team. Additionally, we have held extra practices on the weekends and began practicing as soon as IHSA allowed us to so that we could utilize all the time given.”

  The team only added one new member to the team this year in freshman Ava Lehman. Lehman stated, “It feels amazing being on the team and it’s nice because everyone on the team helps me with skills and to know what to expect in the competitions.”

  The S.H.S. poms team is working very hard to make an attempt to make state for the first time since 2017.