Lake Washington Dance and Drill Team Savoring its State Pom Title

For the l Dance and Drill team, the state championships were more than a chance to continue the team's recent success. It was an opportunity to see if 11 months of preparation had paid off.

Turns out, they had.

The LWHS Dance/Drill team won the state pom championship and finished third in the military and kick categories at the WIAA state championships at the Yakima Valley SunDome on March 25.

Lake Washington beat out 20 teams to win the pom title with 447 points, beating out Capital (442.5). The Kangs racked up 456 points in military and 434 points in kick.

Unlike most high school sports, the dance/drill team starts its season nearly a year before the state competition. The group is selected following tryouts in April and begins practice in early May, meeting two or three days a week. All that work culminates in one chance at a state championship.

"They prepare all season for the state championship," head coach Lindsey Beck said. "Once they get to state they basically in each category have three minutes to show off all of the hard work they've been doing for the whole year."

During the school year, the group practices its routines at halftime of football games and in community parades. Once September hits, the focus turns full-time to the state championship competition.

"They're pretty intensely training from about September to March for competition season," Beck said.

The extended season gives the team the opportunity to develop members who have no experience with dance. The 2010-11 group numbered 26, half of whom had no dance experience. Yet, come state championship time, the group performed as a whole to take a title.

"There were several girls this year, it was their first year on the team and they were out there on that state floor," Beck said. "Throughout the season, the entire team is essentially growing together." 

Beck and her assistant coach are former Lake Washington dance and drill team members. Beck has been coaching the team for six years, overseeing a now four-year run that has seen the program rack up a number of top-three state finishes. She said the experience of being on the team led her to want to come back and coach the team.

"It was our dream to come back and give back to the program," Beck said. "I gained so much through self-esteem and confidence and time management and discipline, that I wanted to be able to give that back to high school girls as a coach."