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05/04/2020 12:00 AMAs East Haven High School pom-pom team prepares for the 2020-’21 season, the Yellowjackets are taking their tryouts online. Anyone who wants to compete for the pom-pom squad will have that opportunity by participating in a unique tryout routine created by Head Coach Megan Butler and Assistant Coach Nikki Butler.
East Haven is conducting virtual tryouts from Monday, May 11 to Wednesday, May 13. Prospective team members will be taught the tryout routine on May 11, be able to ask any questions on May 12, and then perform their routine on May 13. They will then be notified about the coaches’ decisions later in the week.
“I chose to do a virtual tryout because of the pandemic we are in,” Head Coach Megan Butler said. “Due to our annual camp and the fact we like to get a jumpstart on our season, I needed to get tryouts done in some fashion. After talking with my assistant coach, we chose to do a virtual tryout.”
Students who are interested in trying out for the team can contact Megan Butler at meganbutler12793@gmail.com. Butler will add those people to a Google Classroom and then post the tryout routine for them to learn. The routines must be performed in the Google Classroom by 8 p.m. on May 13.
Megan Butler describes this year’s tryout routine as one that will help her and Nikki Butler determine who best fits the Yellowjackets’ strong suits.
“Coach Nikki and I decided to create a routine, which typically is created by our captains,” Megan Butler said. “We have been working on a routine for a couple of weeks which includes key techniques we are looking for our team to execute.”
Butler added that she’s getting the best response she’s seen for tryouts in her seven years with the program. She and Nikki are both expecting an exciting season for the Easties.
The captains for the 2020-’21 East Haven pom-pom squad are Victoria Moll, Samantha Sansone, Deanna Amatruda, and Gianna Alvarado, who will all be seniors in the coming school year. Bobbi Severino will also be a senior on the team.
Moll joined the team in her freshman year of high school and has since formed great relationships with her teammates, describing them as “a family.” Moll has been a competitive dancer since 5th grade and was excited to perform a pom-pom style of dance when she came to the Yellowjackets.
“You get a lot out of pom that you don’t get in other dances,” Moll said. “It’s very structured. Your movements have to be sharp and definitive. When you dance other kinds of dances, it’s very flowy.”
As the tryouts approach, Moll said that all of East Haven’s athletes have been staying in contact.
“We tend to get very close. We spend the whole school year together,” said Moll. “With all the different sports we cheer for and our own competitions, we get very, very close. We make it a point to check in on each other a lot.”
Moll has spoken to at least 10 athletes who are interested in trying out for the team. Heading into next year, Moll feels eager to work with everyone, from the newcomers to her fellow returning seniors.
“It has been really fun speaking to new members, especially being [an incoming senior],” Moll said. “I didn’t know a lot of the girls when I was in middle school. It’s nice to meet new people that have the same interests that could potentially be my new team member and my new family members.”
When the time comes for the Yellowjackets to perform, Moll is hoping that they are ready to work hard and prove just how good they can be.
“I just want everyone to work their hardest. A team is only as strong as their weakest link,” said Moll. “We have to really push each other and ourselves just to get better. We are all capable of amazing things.”