The Silver Spurs won national champions in Galveston in the Extra-Large team division, and runner-up out of all teams ending their competition season at their highest level throughout the year.
“Going to Nationals was such a blessing and coming out of it with a title is the best feeling,” Director Alexandria Thomas said. “I wanted it so bad for them, so seeing them be rewarded in this way is unexplainable, completely speechless.”
According to the athletes, Coach Thomas helped prepare the dancers to take on the challenge and break low expectations for Nationals by coming back from spring break and pushing themselves to their max. With this preparation, the dancers were willing to leave it all on the dance floor.
“Each dance we competed in this year had a story, so it was important that we had multiple conversations leading up to all competition season about how our energy and performance quality was going to set us apart,” Coach Thomas said.
The dances portrayed by the athletes showed character and their own story to set up a finish that allowed the Spurs to place first in the Extra-Large team division and second out of every team that competed in nationals.
“I knew when I first met this team and heard what their season goals were, that I would be able to push them technically, mentally and physically,” Coach Thomas said. “They were so talented and when you have a group full of goal-setting, dedicated kids–you shoot for the moon.”
According to the athletes, this group of leaders and dancers molded the idea of a great season for the Spurs. Showing dedication and perseverance, the leaders did not let up all season and held the dancers accountable to maintain a strong position in nationals.
“The 18th line has lived by our core values and the foundation of this program: Discipline, Dance, Dedication,” Coach Thomas. “I have an amazing leadership group that shows up every day and keeps this team running at a high caliber even when they are tired.”
According to the coaches, these Nationals experiences helped the Spurs not only raise the bar but raise the relationships amongst the dancers and coaches, overall boosting the team morale to a season-high.
“We have worked really hard for this moment, and a lot of the time we don’t get the recognition,” JV Officer Molly Aldridge said. “Winning has been a really special moment for our team, and we’ve really bonded over it.”
To earn an opportunity to attend Nationals, any drill team must place and perform extremely high from competition to competition. Taking complete cooperation and obedience from all athletes and coaches.
“We have really pushed ourselves this year, and we focused on being more technical and perfecting our technique,” Aldridge said. “This year we’ve really been pushing and putting in the work.”
The impacts pursued by Coach Thomas and the senior captains helped sculpt a new generation of dancers for the Spurs by aspiring this year to be different and take the Spurs all the way to Nationals year after year.
“As a captain, I wanted to make an impact on all the girls and the organization in general and even win nationals,” Senior Drill Team Captain Lexi Longoria said. “Part of it was winning and making it more fun for all the dancers and coaches.”
As the final competition season for the current seniors comes to a close, Coach Thomas and the senior officers implement a new mindset for all future leaders and dancers, accomplishing their goals while bonding and growing relationships amongst each other and the directors.
“ [Coach Thomas has] been amazing. She is really hard on us, but she does it from a place of caring and also having the same goals that we’ve talked about at the beginning of the year,” Longoria said. “It’s turned out to be the biggest blessing of my life, and I’ll cherish it forever.
These physical and moral contributions made by the directors and dancers paid off significantly by creating a competition season that led out through the postseason which will be the bar for the future Spurs.
“To get a first-place overall win and then get to compete at a National level is something that I will be forever grateful for,” Coach Thomas. “The blueprint was there, I just did my best to execute it in the right way.”
