Friday Night Lights Feature - Flour Bluff High School Twirlers

Hello Texas Twirl Fans! Welcome to week three of our Friday Night Lights Features.

This week we travel way down south to Corpus Chrisi, Texas, to learn about the Flour Bluff High School twirlers – Cayla Watson, Alexis Tanner, and Piper Vegh. The three twirlers are members of the Stingerettes twirling team and are coached by Nancy Eisenhauer, Kim Berger, and Keely Davis from the Eisenhauer School of Twirling.  

To earn their spots as the Flour Bluff twirlers, each year they have to try out with a routine in front of the band directors. This year five twirlers auditioned, but only these three were selected. As the Flour Bluff twirlers, they get to experience a lot of great moments including having a no drop half time performance, playing other schools with twirlers, and  most notably when they went to an away game, and the student section of the opposing school was cheering super loudly for them.  

At Flour Bluff, they have a lot of great inside jokes and traditions. They start each football game with a kick line before kickoff, and end it with hitting the gate of the football field entrance with their batons for luck. Besides yelling “MOVEMENT FOUR” (which must mean something hilarious), they love when their band does Senior Speeches. “On the day of the last home game, before we leave, all the seniors are given the opportunity to give a speech about their time in the band and their experiences”.  

While they may have a few years until they give their senior speeches, they already know what they will miss the most when they leave band. “The memories made at band camp, practice, games, pep-rallies, and before/after school rehearsals” as well as “all of the friends I have made over the years. I will also miss being part of such a close band, because everyone is very friendly and nice to each other”.

When summing up their experiences as twirlers, they have learned a lot. They feel that twirling has given them a lot of confidence and has given them the ability to always think positive. “When you drop on the field or during a competition you should always smile even bigger and keep going. It really helps you realize that even when things get tough, think positively and keep smiling!” They also have some important advice to pass on to future High School Twirlers including (1) Learn your spots!!! (2) Never stop practicing- and that means full out practicing (3) Know the routines and (4) of course, have fun!

 Now let’s learn a little more about these three Hornet Twirlers…

Cayla Watson, Freshman, Competition Level: Advanced

Cayla has been twirling for 12 years. She is most proud of winning the title of 2016 Advanced Junior Texas State Solo, Strut, and 2 Baton Champion. Her favorite tricks during their marching band show are her double illusion and their group exchange in movement four. Cayla’s most memorable twirling moment was when she got to compete in the Strut Offs at AYOP Nationals. After High School she wants to twirl for a major University.

Alexis Tanner, Junior, Competition Level: Intermediate

Alexis has been twirling for 10 years. She is most proud of the title of 2009 Beginner Miss Majorette of Texas. Her favorite competition trick is a toss double illusion, and her favorite field trick is a toss cartwheel. After High School, Alexis plans to attend college and twirl for her University, while also running track and working on her major of sports medicine. She says her favorite twirling moment would be when “I won a sportsmanship award from Mrs. Patti Mickey for continuing my routine through to the end even though I was covered in blood since I had hit myself in the face and given myself a nose bleed”. 

Piper Vegh, Sophomore, Competition Level: Intermediate

Piper has been twirling for 11 years. She is most proud of earning the title 2014 National Flag Baton Champion. Her favorite competition twirling trick is elbow pops and her favorite field trick is a toss leap.  Her favorite competition each year is AYOP and she loves doing her solo. After college Piper plans to work with the elderly.

Who are they most inspired by?

     *Cayla – Savannah Miller

     *Piper – Elisabeth Lawson

     *Alexis – Shane Downey “He was so uplifting and had a positive outlook on everything”. 

Fun Facts!

Color: Glurple/“Glittery Purple” (Cayla), Blue (Alexis & Piper)

Movie: Soul Surfer (Cayla), Aladdin (Alexis), Titanic (Piper)

Music: Pop (Cayla), anything that pumps you up (Alexis), Drake (Piper)

When they are not twirling, they love to…

      *Cayla – RUN! I'm in cross country and track

      *Alexis – RUN!! I love running on varsity track for my school

      *Piper – Sleep

Something you might not know about these girls:

      *Cayla – I love tacos.

      *Alexis – During concert season I play the bassoon.

      *Piper – I have a pet squirrel, goat, and pig.

Best Advice ever given by their coach:

      *Cayla – Practice like you're in last, Perform like you've already won.

      *Alexis – Just keep smiling, and if you mess up, smile bigger! 

      *Piper – You can do it!!

Favorite Quote/Life Motto:

      *Cayla – "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." 

      *Alexis – “Fake it till you make it!”

      *Piper – "Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor."

Funniest Moment Twirling Together:

It is a tie, with both stories revolving around Alexis. It was either when she broke her baton in half right before they went on to the field for a halftime performance, or when Alexis was practicing during band camp and ended up getting the tip of her baton stuck in a container of coconut oil. We don’t even want to know how either of those happened! Way to go Alexis!

We hope you have enjoyed another edition of our Friday Night Lights Feature. Have a favorite High School or Collegiate Twirler that you would like to see interviewed? Please contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com with their name and email address so that we can reach out to them!