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Harris

Makaela Anderson and Katie Harris stand together in their Fossil uniforms, batons in hand

Twirlers of Fossil

March 25, 2019

Football and basketball season are opportunities for many teams at Fossil Ridge High School. From the competing teams themselves to dance and cheer, many athletic teams get involved for these seasons. Along with them, two individuals at Fossil perform halftime routines as well. Both are baton twirlers, putting in hours of work every day to be able to show off their skills. Katie Harris and Makaela Anderson are not part of a team but still represent their school through their performances.

To be able to perform, they contacted Fossil’s athletic director and were given opportunities to perform. Besides supporting Fossil athletics at games, Harris and Anderson compete. They both recently traveled to Orlando, Florida for the international championship competition. Hosted by the ESPN Wide World of Sports center in Disney, they competed in “Twirl Mania” with twirlers from around the world.

Anderson twirls three batons at once for a competition

Anderson

Anderson twirls three batons at once for a competition

Makaela Anderson

Sophomore Makaela Anderson has been twirling since the age of seven. After trying gymnastics, soccer and dance, she lost interest in all three and looked for something new. Now a twirler, she participates in competitions on a national and international level, as well as performing at Fossil games.

Anderson
Anderson smiles through her competition routine

She practices for at least two hours a day, six days a week. She normally practices for two and a half hours. Anderson usually stretches, works on her full routines, perfecting skills with two and three batons, and going over tricks she dropped again. “At the end of practice I usually work on my hard or new tricks to get those better,” she stated.

When asked about the most difficult part of twirling, Anderson claimed, “persistence and motivation. Since this sport requires a lot of practice and trying tricks over and over again, it can be very hard to get back up and try again sometimes.”

For Anderson, learning new skills is her biggest motivation boost. She stated that “This sport is a challenge. There are always harder tricks to try, and other competitors striving to achieve the same thing as you.” She constantly strives to improve, and will not stop. She puts hours of time in to get a new skill, and loves the sense of accomplishment once mastered. She combines her determination with her goals for her next competition—trying to be the best twirler she can be.

Anderson
Anderson poses under the Friday night lights after a halftime performance

During performances, Anderson gets in the zone. She stays focused on the task at hand, and pays attention to little details in her routine. She thinks about every aspect of her routine, “whether it’s catching three batons milliseconds apart or simply pointing my toes and smiling at the judge.”

Twirl Mania is a wonderful opportunity for Anderson to catch up with her twirling friends. She has made friends from various places from competitions, and enjoys time when she gets to see them again. “I loved getting to reunite with my twirling friends from across the country in the happiest place on Earth,” Anderson claimed.

After graduation, Anderson plans on twirling through college. She is not sure where she would like to go yet. She hopes to become a coach afterwards as well.

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Katie+doing+an+aerial%2C+a+no-handed+cartwheel

Harris

Katie doing an aerial, a no-handed cartwheel

Katie Harris

Junior Katie Harris has been twirling since the age of nine. It first peaked her interest because Harris thought, “I hadn’t seen any of my friends do it and I thought it would be fun.” Growing up with interests in dance and gymnastics, she thought it was a unique combination of both—a way to combine Harris’ passions into one.

Harris was a part of Fossil Ridge High School’s dance team sophomore year to get involved with the school, while continuing to keep baton as her main sport. She found it difficult to do both because of being constantly busy. She decided to take junior year off of the team to manage both coach changes and her commitment to baton.

Harris
Harris showing off some awards

Through discipline and goal setting, Harris practices every day—two to three hours during the school year, and two to six hours in the summer. She enjoys the challenge of baton, constantly learning new skills and improving her abilities. Harris’ coach lives in Pennsylvania, and she practices alone between times when she receives coaching. Harris said, “I have to be very responsible for practicing daily and working hard in between the times that I get to meet with him.”

In between performances and competitions, Harris finds it difficult to stay motivated. She sometimes gets frustrated and wants to give up, so Harris uses goal setting to keep her on track. Despite this, she still enjoys the process, and constantly wants to improve. “I also really like that you can never stop learning or be too good. There’s always room to grow and get better and that keeps me motivated,” she claimed.

While performing, Harris stays completely focused. During competitions, she feels like she is by herself, as if it is just her and the judges. Halftime performances at Fossil are a little different. Harris finds it more difficult to stay focused with the crowd, but enjoys feeling the energy and reactions coming from everyone in the room.

Harris
Fire baton at a football game

A highlight from performing for Harris has been doing fire baton for a football game. She coordinated with the fire department to be able to do it, and enjoyed that performance. During Twirl Mania she competed in individual events, placing third in High School Classic. For this event, she did a routine in her Fossil uniform and twirled to band music. She also found success in the All-Around event, placing in the top ten.

In July, Harris will compete in the national competition at the University of Notre Dame. She plans to twirl both competitively and with school all the way through college. She has not decided on a university yet, but will audition for the feature twirler position at a few major universities.

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