Now that football season has come to a close, the cheer and poms team start their competition season through the end of January. Both teams have been preparing for this time of year since the summer. They are both hoping to qualify for the state competition this year and know it will take a lot of hard work and determination to get there.

The Leydenettes have a total of five competitions this year including sectionals. During early November, they had a choreographer come in on a Saturday for 10 hours to teach the team their new routine. They already had their first competition on November 22, competing against over 40 other routines. This year the team has decided to perform a jazz routine to the song, “Unbelievers” by Vampire Weekend. This song was chosen by their choreographer because the Leydenettes wanted to perform a jazz routine. Jessica Johnson, a junior at West Leyden, says, “I think we have improved extremely from last year not. We went to our competition with a jazz routine, which is something different than our usual poms dances. We put so much work into our dance, and I think we performed really well at competition.” With a total of 18 members performing, intense and long practices have been held for many weeks. Diana Csercse, a senior at East Leyden shared her thoughts about the team. “Competition season is personally my favorite part of poms. I think the girls love to show off all their hard work and have fun in doing so.”

The Varsity cheer team learned their competition routine over two days during the summer. They have practiced four days a week since the football season has ended. Their choreographer has returned a few times to help them clean their routine some more. Team captain Ashley Pesch stated, “Whether we place or not this year, it’s a great experience and the team has became so close.”

Leydenettes Competition Schedule:

Varsity Cheer Competition Schedule:

Both teams hope to see as much #LEYDENPRIDE as possible at all competitions this year. Each team has put in a lot of dedication and time to prove to everyone what they are capable of.