Pom is new to ACP’s team of sports; however, they made themselves known by competing in the State competition. This past week, on the 20th of January, ACP’s Pom Team competed in the state Championship located at Chase Field. Even though they have only been a team for two years, the Pom Team placed 8th at State, leaving their mark at Chase Field and in ACP’s history.

In an interview with Grace Lund (11), one of the choreographers of the State routine, she explained how competitions are usually overwhelming, big, and stressful, but most importantly are fun. She continued by saying, “It is such a great experience… and the teams that are better… make you want to work harder to be like them.” When asked about the process of coming up with a routine, Grace replied by saying she didn’t do it alone. Grace, along with Ally Halverson and Ava Berry, choreographed a two-and-a-half minute routine, which they spent about 15 hours creating. She continued by exclaiming state was an amazing experience, for it allowed her, the team, and their coaches to see all their hard work and growth they experienced throughout the year. Grace’s advice to any who are looking to join the spirit line, specifically Pom, is that, “It doesn’t matter how flexible you are, as long as you are willing to work hard… and try your best…”.

Ms. Economou, (pictured right), one of the coaches of ACP’s Spirit line, accompanied the Pom team to State. The biggest difference between Pom and the Spirit line, stated Economou, is that Pom is heavily focused on dancing. The ACP Pom Team consists of ten strong dancers, but they are always looking to grow! With a small, yet strong team, Ms. Economou explained the Pom Team was very proud of their performance and they didn’t care how they placed, they only wanted to be proud of how they did. She also clarified that the Pom girls are also on the Sprit line, meaning they “are a cheer team turned pom… they do both cheer and pom…”. Ms. Economou, along with Grace, agreed that the most exciting part of the day was simply seeing the routine performed and the visible growth of the girls as a whole. She continued with saying the biggest difference between this performance and previous ones is that Chase Field was much bigger than the team was used to. They had only previously performed at schools in Arizona, and Chase Field was quite intimidating to the girls. The team competed in multiple events until they qualified for state and had to opportunity to be one of the teams dancing at Chase Field. 

The team was proud of their performance and have much to work on for next year! The girls faced multiple new experiences, but they are determined to conquer state next year.