PonyTime wrote:Any update on Bill Armstrong's initiative that was mentioned in one of the Walking Strong videos regarding recruiting for SMU pom and cheer?
I know that there has been a different focus since Mary came on. She's a former DCC, Coach Holly Skillings is a great dancer and choreographer and her sister is a current DCC, and they've brought in other DCCs to choreograph like Kashara Garrett who did the routine posted above. So they are definitely going for that style which is fantastic and they have great connections in the industry. They made the conscious decision to cut down the team so they have excellent dancers front to back. Other teams have more girls but there is a lot of filler--pretty girls who can move well but are not really dancers. It's a choice, very appealing to the public, but not what we are going for. Another thing they are doing is really selling their spring clinics and they are well attended and great for recruitment.
I am glad because it was super frustrating when my daughter was a pommie and there was so much talent that was not put to great use. They didn't even have a dedicated dance coach until her junior year. Choreo was a mixed bag, some great, some not so much.
Scholarships would be nice and would help bring in the talent. We were promised a book stipend but never got one. Got to keep the boots though, heh heh.
PS I would add that there is only one college team in Texas that is truly elite and that is Texas Tech and it's not even close.