An overwhelming crowd of hundreds to thousands of people, the smell of hairspray and determination, and the deafening silence in the few seconds before the music starts. For anyone unfamiliar with the Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches (WACPC), these three variables rarely overlap. To the South High Varsity Cheer and Dance teams, this is more distinguishable than anything. Competitions are second nature to these athletes. In the winter season of high school athletics, cheer and dance not only perform at games, they also compete around the state.

The Varsity Cheer team sets goals at the beginning of the season that can be anywhere from landing a back handspring to placing in the top three at State. Junior Paola Hernandez elaborated on her goal,

“My goal for the overall season is to have a great routine for State and hopefully hit a perfect routine. We have a ton of work to do, but I am certain it is possible. I am excited to see how people progress individually with skills whether it be myself or a teammate. Every new skill helps us grow as a team and allows us to do better at competitions.”

The team sets high goals for themselves and what better way to achieve them than to push themselves from the start. This weekend the Cheer team will compete in two competitions. The first competition on Saturday will run late into the night and the team has to be awake bright and early Sunday morning for the second. A jam-packed weekend has drawbacks, but proves to be rewarding.

“Having two competitions in one weekend is stressful but fun. It helps us improve by reviewing scoresheets as a team and seeing what corrections can be made. The key to handling the pressure is to stay focused. As a team we constantly remind each other to take things one at a time. It also helps to have a team as supportive as ours,” stated Sophomore Harrison Stuckmann.

Another supportive team also has a busy weekend coming up. The Dance team has their first competition of the winter season on Saturday. In preparation for the upcoming competitions there are a few differences in the Dance team–even an award winning team seeks out improvement. The Varsity Dance team holds multiple State Titles in the Division One Hip Hop category, and while their achievements validate their effort, there is always something to change and build from. The coaches and athletes made numerous modifications to enhance their abilities, as Junior Amy Cooper explained,

“Usually the summer season is used to aid the Junior Varsity team, but since there is not one this year we were able to focus on ourselves and how to improve. We spent a lot of time weight lifting and doing lots of cardio. My team took tumbling classes together, which helped a ton. The changes in our workout certainly benefitted the team.”

The most noticeable changes to the Varsity Dance team are the faces. Each season the team bids farewell to their beloved seniors, a new batch of prospective freshmen fill their spots. However, a difference that rarely occurs is a change in the coaching staff–the well-known Varsity coach, Carlee Reinemann, has gained a co-coach, Paige Riste. Riste previously coached the Junior Varsity team of 2012-13, and was a South dancer as well. With all the new changes, a four-year Varsity Senior reflected on this season in comparison to others.

“Being one of the two girls on the team the longest, it’s been very different from other seasons, but it’s definitely not a bad different. We have a new coach that has been running practices. Carlee is still around and does a ton of behind the scenes work and gives input during practice,” concluded Senior Madisyn Riste, “Another change is the size of the team. The team is extremely smaller. We started with 16 and now have 15 where in past seasons we usually have 24-26. The numbers aren’t bad- I feel a lot closer to all the girls and it’s easier to clean the routines that way.”

With great change comes sacrifice, and with sacrifice comes even greater rewards. The South High Varsity Dance team is perfecting their formula for a successful season.

The Dance team has a competition in Freedom, Wisconsin this weekend. Come out and show your Redwing pride! Can’t make it this weekend? They also have another in Kaukauna on January 14th. Not to be forgotten are the Cheer team’s two competitions at Appleton North on Saturday and East Troy on Sunday.  Break a leg to both the Cheer and Dance teams this weekend. Fly high, Redwings!