With the drill team contest season coming up on Feb. 15, 2024 the Reedy Sapphires are eagerly awaiting to perform and represent Reedy on the stage. 

Competition season comes with highs and lows for many of the Sapphire’s. Many look forward to their favorite parts of competing.

“I love getting to hear the music for the first time because it sets the feeling on how I perform,” senior Anna Berkelbaugh said.

Lots of the Reedy sapphires enjoy competition day because of team bonding and special memories made with the team.

“Contest day is always fun, because we just don’t take it super seriously,” said Junior Kaylee Dunbar.

However, competition requires a lot of practice and hard work before going out on stage. The dances are very precise and take time to master.

“Each practice, you run the choreography in a very detailed manner over and over again,” said Sapphire’s director Kristy Platt.

Competition season can be intense and time consuming, affecting the sapphires schedules and free time. There are several routines that the dancers must perfect in time.

“It definitely makes it a lot busier for sure,” assistant director Victoria Meese said.  “We put in a lot of extra practice to perfect those routines that we work on a lot. And not only do we have team routines, there’s also solos, smaller ensembles, our dance officers have a couple of routines, and our social officers have a routine.”

The intense practices around competition time cause dancers to require more rest. The resting time, combined with extra practices and homework can lead to quite a busy schedule.

“I think competition season affects my schedule in the way that  I get really sore, and so I have to make time to rest my body,” Dunbar said.

Many of the sapphires feel stressed and anxious prior to the day of the contest. The team creates a safe environment for the dancers to help manage stress.

“It can get pretty stressful in the sapphire team because not everyone has experienced competition stress but we prioritize kindness and communication,” said senior Emma Galvan.

The sapphire coaches also make an effort to address stress and mental health prior to competing. 

“When they’re stressed, we try to put together something where we either are doing something physical or we’re just talking about stress and how to handle it,” said Platt. “So it’s kind of a part of our curriculum, a part of our program is to always talk about mental health.”

With all the stress, hearing their favorite music helps the sapphires relax and enjoy the moment while competing.

“Our team jazz is ‘Me Too’, by Meghan Trainer, and I have loved that song ever since it came out, so I think that one might be my favorite, because it’s such an upbeat, fun song,” Meese said.

On the day of contest, many of the Sapphires have certain traditions that they do to ensure success and lower stress levels.

“I have a small pointe shoe that my mom gave me when I was little for one of my first competitions that I always bring with me for good luck,” junior Stella Schroder said.

The directors also look to certain indicators that the performance will go well, helping them lower their stress levels and enjoy the performance.

“If I have a really great practice the day before a performance, I anticipate it’s not going to be that great of a performance,”  Platt said. “So if I have a really kind of rough practice, then I get really excited, because I think the next day is going to be amazing,”