{"id":2936,"date":"2012-03-04T07:39:23","date_gmt":"2012-03-04T12:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/?p=2936"},"modified":"2012-03-07T00:36:25","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T05:36:25","slug":"accomplishing-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/03\/accomplishing-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Achieving dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Karina Zanyk Mclean & Megan Bartlett<\/strong>
\nnow at dow & staff writer<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Oxford\u2019s dictionary, the definition of a sport is \u201can activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment\u201d. DHS has many sport teams including basketball, football and tennis. However, the DHS Pom Pon team is officially labeled a club by the school system.<\/p>\n

Captain Brooke Nemeth, a junior, explains why she thinks many people don\u2019t see pom for what it really is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only see us perform,\u201d Nemeth said. \u201cWhen we perform we smile, we look happy and we make it look easy. That\u2019s what we\u2019re supposed to do. We\u2019re supposed to make it look easy even though it\u2019s not. I think they come to conclusions just from what they see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior and varsity pommer Kayla Thornton also believes that pom is not widely understood in the student population.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone could really come into pom and understand,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cWith pom, there are certain ways you have to do things and I just don\u2019t think people could come into it knowing how to do it. I don\u2019t think people understand how hard we work at practice. People think we\u2019re just sitting around dancing and that\u2019s not what it\u2019s like it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, many pommers believe that it takes a lot of dedication to achieve their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cPom becomes your life,\u201d senior captain Sam Leslie said. <\/p>\n

Leslie went on to explain that members of the fall pom team are expected to attend a summer camp which takes place for four days in August. They practice three to four days a week from June to August for two hours. Once school starts they practice four days a week and perform at games on Fridays. After the fall season ends, pommers immediately begin winter season where they practice two hours a day, six days a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, we average 5 days a week for 10 months out of the year,\u201d Leslie said.<\/p>\n

This extensive practice schedule allows for the team to attend a regional and state competition in early 2012. This year, the team qualified to be in Class A, Division One, making them the second pom pon team in DHS history to do so. The team qualified into Division One with a score of 80.3 percent, and placed 12th.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be in division one, you get a score of 80 percent or higher,\u201d Nemeth said. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty hard to get. The teams in division one are insanely good. We weren\u2019t expecting to do very well, which was okay because even if you get into division one you\u2019re still beating all of the division two people. It\u2019s really an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some members of the DHS pom team not only compete in the school season, but are also members of the Mid-American Pom Pon team, which will be performing at the London Olympics this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re invited to this showcase that\u2019s taking place the week before the opening ceremonies,\u201d sophomore Gina Tolfa said. \u201cThere are a lot of dancers from different places performing as well, and we\u2019re performing a routine in the big dance showcase.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eight students from DHS are part of the team, which has over one hundred of the best pommers from all over the state. The girls can choose to try out for the All-Star team, which performs at Detroit Tigers games, Detroit Pistons games, and the America\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really good experience to meet a lot of new girls from around the state who have the same passion as you,\u201d Tolfa said. \u201cYou make lasting friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, the varsity pom team has made better friendships with the members of the JV team through pom sisters. Each varsity pommer is a \u201csister\u201d to a JV team member.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, we have time at the end of practice where we show each other our routine,\u201d sophomore McKenzie Laursen, a member of the varsity pom team, said. \u201cWe give them corrections and stuff like that. We\u2019re there for moral support really, and we go to watch their performances when we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laursen believes that this helps to make both pom teams much closer together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all one big family,\u201d Laursen said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DHS pom squad accomplishes team victories with hard work and dedication<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nAchieving dreams - UPDATE ONLINE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/03\/accomplishing-dreams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Achieving dreams - UPDATE ONLINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DHS pom squad accomplishes team victories with hard work and dedication\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/03\/accomplishing-dreams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UPDATE ONLINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DHSUpdate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-04T12:39:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-07T05:36:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Update\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DowHighUpdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DowHighUpdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Update\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Update\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be39f258dafaaac3e98f5951fe5e9198\"},\"headline\":\"Achieving dreams\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-04T12:39:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-07T05:36:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"SPORTS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/\",\"name\":\"Achieving dreams - UPDATE ONLINE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-04T12:39:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-07T05:36:25+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/accomplishing-dreams\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"UPDATE ONLINE\",\"description\":\"H.H. 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