Poms, now in its third year at Wilde Lake, has evolved from a small, student-run club to a twenty-plus member squad, its largest group yet, said Audrey Fioretto.

Senior captain, Audrey Fioretto, has been on the team since it has started. “I helped with its start up and invested a lot of time into it in the past three years,” said Fioretto. As captain, Fioretto designs spirit wear and choreographs routines.

“Poms is dancing with pompoms. It’s like a drill team, but it’s different than cheerleading,” said sophomore Lucy Flippen, who joined Poms her freshman year. “Poms performs at basketball halftime shows, as well as the homecoming pep rally and football halftime show,” said Flippen.

People join Poms for multiple reasons. Flippen joined Poms because she really likes to dance, and she wanted to be involved with a sport at the same time. “Poms allows me to do that,” said Flippen.

Most Poms members have experience in dancing. “I have been dancing for as long as I can remember. I take dance classes in ballet, tap and modern,” said Flippen.

“My favorite part of Poms is giving students an outlet,” says Ms. Volpe, team advisor and social studies teacher at Wilde Lake. “Particularly, it gives dancers an outlet where they can showcase their skill and talent.”

Ms. Volpe helped to found the club. “There were these girls that I taught in ninth grade that begged me to start a Poms team from ninth grade to tenth grade, and I finally said yes their junior year, which was two years ago, and that was when we officially had our first season,” said Ms. Volpe.

Starting a brand new club was not too difficult. “The process of starting the club required approval and an advisor, and once I said I would be the advisor we met and had an interest meeting and held auditions,” said Ms. Volpe.

As the advisor, Ms. Volpe approves the choreography and music chosen by the students. She also helps with the financial aspect of dealing with the accountant and ordering stuff, such as the spirit wear that the kids design. “Poms is run by the captains who are Tyra Hill, Audrey Fioretto, and Christine Wrighter, so all routines are student choreographed by them,” said Ms. Volpe.

Performing is agreed to be the best part about being on the team, said sophomore, Abigail Jackson.  “It’s what we work towards, and it’s the final payoff of all the practice that goes into it,” said Jackson.

Poms lets dancers get involved, be creative, and encompass school spirit. The goal for the young Poms squad is to continue growing, said Ms. Volpe, in order to “become a staple at Wilde Lake.”