By Gabby Carlson | Echo
The Taylor University cheerleading squad and the POMS dance team strive to work together to promote school spirit. The cheerleading squad will cheer during basketball and football games, while the POMS team will continue to perform at halftime at basketball, football and soccer games.
New this year, the cheer squad is coached by seniors Brielle Tilson and Cassandra Schmid. The POMS dance team is coached by seniors Leslie Clouse and Courtney Spoutz. The two teams compliment each other on and off the field.
The cheer squad brought girls together who had not cheered since high school. The team has progressed tremendously, especially considering many girls did not have experience with stunting because it is illegal in Ohio, according to Tilson.
"The girls have such a fire and dedication in their hearts that everyday we are getting better and have really pulled it off," said Tilson.
According to Tilson, the cheer squad will be appearing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) cheer competition this year against schools such as Indiana Wesleyan University, University of Saint Francis and Bethel College. As a club sport, they hope to be recognized as a varsity sport in the next few years.
While the POMS dance team believes in the impact of dance through choreography used as a form of worship and promotion of school spirit, according to Spoutz. The cheer team tumbles and stunts to pump up the crowd, as well as competing against other squads in their league, junior Makaley Morgan commented.
"Both cheerleading and POMS are groups of women with a passion of boosting the morale at sporting events," freshman cheer member Kiersten Mackintosh said. "Each team has very different skill sets, but ultimately, we are both there to come together and entertain the crowd and cheer on the Trojans."
Members from each team are excited to work together to cheer on their classmates and friends in the upcoming seasons, boosting the Taylor morale at each sporting event.
Taylor University's fresh-faced cheer squad is also looking for new members. The squad, coming into existence last spring, is looking for not only women, but men. They are in need of strong male lifters and experienced cheerleaders. The evaluation will be held tomorrow, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
