Citrus Bowl trip teaches life lessons

The Poplar Bluff Junior High Pom Squad took off to Orlando, Fla., for the Citrus Bowl. However, rather than being there to solely watch the game, the group of 16 girls attended to perform as part of the pregame show.

Coach Paige Sheehy said the group participated in dance camp over the summer where they qualified to join a group of students in performing before the game between the Michigan Wolverines and Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Varsity Spirit pregame performance included over 900 students — dancers, cheerleaders and mascots — from around the country, all of whom qualified through their respective varsity spirit summer camps.

Sixteen Poplar Bluff Junior High School girls traveled to Orlando in the days after Christmas to perform as part of the pregame show for the Citrus Bowl.Photo provided

Sheehy said she received clips of videos for the group to practice over the months since the camp. The group arrived in Orlando and their Disney World Resort on Sunday, Dec. 29. In-person rehearsals started the next morning with three total rehearsals before the show.

“They had to know the routine ahead of time,” she said. “We all had to learn the routine separately before we got there.”

Along with their rehearsals, the students were able to spend time at the Disney parks during their four-day trip. After checking into the hotel, they were able to go to EPCOT. Each morning, they had rehearsal followed by lunch and time at a different park, including Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.

Although the trip included a lot of work, the students were able to visit four of the Disney parks during their stay.Photo provided

Sheehy said of the 16 girls who took the trip, only four had ever been to the Disney parks before.

“Several of them had never even been to the state of Florida,” she said. “Just seeing the excitement on their faces. Some of them were completely shocked by the things we got to visit. They didn’t even know what it was going to be like.

“It was a big team building experience because they got to spend it all together and do it with each other.”

The whole trip, she said, was a lot of counting in order to keep from losing any of them.

“We have to do a head count off the bus, out of the gas station, on the bus, onto the ride, into the football stadium,” she said. “You have to count every single girl and make sure you have all of your ducks in a row and make sure you are prepared and organized.

“The girls had to keep up with all of their uniform pieces. They had to keep up with their tickets and their poms, and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to completely do the entire experience. I had to teach them to be responsible and keep up with all of their stuff.”

In order to pay for the trip, Sheehy said, they did “like a million and five fundraisers.”

She said they had to consider things like how much time the fundraisers would take and how much they thought they could raise from it on order to decide which ones to do.

The team partnered with several restaurants in the area for its members to help for the night and receive a portion of the profits. They sold several items, hosted skate nights and a yard sale.

“They have learned the value of a dollar,” Sheehy said. “They know how hard they need to work for something that they really want to do. We’ve been working for this since June and I really think it has taught them a lot about the person they can be if they put in the work.”

This is only the third year the school has had a pom squad, and thus, the first year the group was able to participate. However, Sheehy said, she wants to be able to participate again.

“Not next year, but hopefully in a couple years we can do it again,” she said. “Now, I know how it works.”