Milford Pom team take on season during pandemic

Things are looking very different for the Milford pom girls this year. Like other athletes, they are learning how to perform while  taking on COVID-19, which is adding many new guidelines and rules. However, that’s not all that is different about pom in 2020.  

Normally, the pom squad’s team size is around 15-18 dancers. This season there are 26 girls on varsity, which is a big, exciting change! Except with the social distancing and COVID guidelines, it makes people wonder, did the new team growth make for more difficult procedures? “With social distancing it makes it harder to be in close formations when needed, which is more of a problem than you would think,” said Senior Megan Taggert, who agrees that the guidelines have been more challenging this year.    

The Pom team only had 4 opportunities to preform this year and every routine was more fun than the last. Recently, the seniors got to choreograph a routine for the rest of the team. The seniors took advantage of this opportunity by using a bunch of hit songs. With songs like, “Come and Go” by Juicewrld and “Partition” by Beyonce it would have been a great opportunity to get the student section involved and cheering on the Pom team. 

Like many other teammates, Bailey Pietraszkiewicz loved the senior routine and the normalcy that came with continuing the tradition. “The senior routine is my favorite dance to preform almost every year, I was so happy to get to participate in another one!”

Practice looks different, but not as different as games look. Normally, the pom squad arrives at the football field before the game starts to help make the tunnel for the football players to run out through. Then, the pom team stands with all the sports for the National Anthem. The girls then watch from the sidelines or stands for the game, besides for when they have to perform at halftime. Now, dancers arrive during the first quarter and stay at the track until halftime; they get to dance then they must leave immediately after. 

“At games we used to be able to hang out the whole time,” Taggert said.  “Now, it’s just get there, dance and leave. It feels kind of pointless.”  Taggart has experienced real Friday night lights for 3 years now. But even those who haven’t experienced it are not seeing the excitement either, “Yeah the game is a good time, but there isn’t anything very special or fun about it.” says Pryankia Patel, a freshman on the pom team. 

Hopefully restrictions lighten at some point and the pom team will get to experience a fun filled football night before the season is over!