By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
Motivating 23 teenage women to do anything is a feat worthy of praise. Getting them to do it at a championship level is worthy of even more praise.
Getting 23 teenage women to stay motivated at a championship level for five years might be unheard of, if not for the Waterford High School varsity dance team.
The Wolverines won their fifth consecutive Southern Lakes Conference varsity dance title Jan. 10 at Westosha Central High School in Paddock Lake.
Waterford finished first with 245 points, 39 more than second-place Burlington (206). Lake Geneva Badger finished third (197) and Union Grove fourth (194).
The Wolverines also finished first and second in the Small Group Dance competition. Tylerann Preifer, Rachel Schubring and Kendall Trieglaff finished first and Alyssa Steinhaus, Gabrielle Bruns and Maggie Nicholls finished second.
Coach Deanna Schicker said Trieglaff finished as the Solo Conference Champion.
Schicker is in her fifth season as the Waterford Varsity Dance team’s coach, and works as a dance instructor at Foursis Academy of Dance, Gymnastics & Music in Rochester.
“They were very excited,” Schicker said of the young women on the dance team in the aftermath of their win. “Every year, it’s a new batch of girls we get to add. It’s exciting each time. A lot of them are proud to carry that legacy.”
The varsity dance team’s winning pom-pom routine is entitled “Drop it Low,” and is a mix of songs that feature the word “drop.”
Schicker said the team started practicing the routine in July at Foursis. The team practices at Foursis and at Waterford High School, depending on the time of year.
Schicker said the team’s winning routine was a culmination of months of repetition and refining any mistakes out of their performance. Schicker said the Wolverines were prepared, and performed with no mistakes and a high level of energy.
“They’re pretty consistent, and I think that’s just their work ethic and how much their routines are drilled in,” Schicker said. “In performances, they’re pretty consistent when they go and compete.”
Schicker said the squad also performs at Waterford football and basketball games, and many of them dance at Foursis. Schicker coaches the Foursis Dazzler Dance Teams, which won national dance titles annually from 2006 through 2014.
“I think, for me, dance is just one of my passions, and I enjoy coaching kids and letting them experience why I love it so much,” Schicker said. “It takes a lot of work and time and commitment.”
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