Being able to be part of a close knit group for all four years of high school is something everyone wants to experience, and being part of the poms team is just that. Senior Jillian Pohoryles, captain of the team, just finished up her last season as a pom in high school. Although it was cut short, she valued every moment with her team. 

Pohoryles started poms in her freshman year, and has wanted to continue ever since then. She has valued the countless friendships and experiences she was able to have in just that year, and said that “the rush of adrenaline [she] felt and still feel when [she] performed in front of the school” was what made her want to keep doing poms since that first year. 

Because Pohoryles loves dancing, she was happy that she was able to represent her school while dancing with the best friends she has ever had. She believed that it would only get better from the first year, and that it would change her whole high school experience. “It was the highlight of high school for me,” Pohoryles said. 

Pohoryles has countless fond memories from her time in poms, and loved to see her choreography be performed by her team. She said she loved seeing her team members’ excitement and pride after nailing the choreography and technique that was part of the dance. Pohoryles said that “seeing my choreography performed by [her]  hard-working, energetic team while the crowd goes wild was the best,” and that it was hard to name just one memory. 

One thing that Pohoryles values and remembers is the down time she had with her team, where they would joke around and make each other laugh while getting ready for and driving to games and competitions. She also loved hanging out with the team on the weekend together, and said it was “ultimately sharing a bond that can never be broken.”

If it weren’t for Covid-19, Pohoryles would have wanted to do much more with her team.  She said that senior year on poms is so special, because there are numerous traditions such as driving team members to football games, senior night, having seniority on the team and more. Pohoryles had new ideas for the 2020-2021 season that she wasn’t able to bring up and put into action. “I’m especially upset I wasn’t able to show new members of the team why poms is one of the best things I did in high school,” Pohoryles said.