Hello Texas Twirl Fans! Are
you ready for the Thanksgiving school break week? I know we are! What are your
plans? Oh, you are a twirler/twirling coach/twirling mom? Then it must involve
the inside of a gym at some point! We all know holidays for twirlers just mean
more non-school hours for practicing.
This week we take a moment to meet two ladies who know that hours and hours of practice
in the gym, and on the blacktop, are just a way of life when you want success. For our second to last
edition of the Friday Night Light Feature, we travel just north of our State
Capital to meet the two lovely Feature Twirlers of the Round Rock High School Dragon Band
– McKenzie Gomez and Josie Linson!
These two twirlers have not
only helped bring baton twirling visibility back to the Round Rock area, but also to the Texas Bands of America competitions! This season, their award winning Varsity Marching Band (Finalist at the BOA Austin Regional, BOA San Antonio Super Regional, and the UIL 6A State Marching
competition) featured these ladies twirling beautiful Lumina batons as
a part of their competition marching show. They were also front and center for
the JV Marching Band show where they twirled light batons, and Samoan knives
to fit the Star Wars theme.
The Round Rock Dragon band is
very well known throughout the State competition circuit, not only for their
excellent marching shows, but also for their contagious chant. At any football
game or marching band performance, the unmistakable “Go Rock! Go Band! Go Rock
Band!” can be heard echoing through the stadium. We know these two twirlers love being a part of this wonderful organization and are always happy to
cheer right along.
Now let’s take a moment and
meet these two beautiful Dragon Twirlers off the field…
Josie Linson, Sophomore,
Competition Level: Advanced
Josie has been twirling for 8
years with Coach Whitney Coons and Twirl ATX. The competition title she is the
most proud of earning is the 2015 Intermediate Junior Texas State Pageant
Winner. Her favorite competition trick is her double illusion and her favorite
field trick is a toss cartwheel. In baton twirling, Josie has been most
inspired by current University of Texas Feature Twirler, Erica Kuntz. “She
works so hard and she is a great example of true showmanship”. Josie’s favorite
moment as a twirler was when she caught her double illusion in her pageant solo
at AYOP Nationals. She had pulled her hamstring pretty bad in practice the
week before the competition and she "almost wasn’t going to try it, but my coach and my mom
encouraged me to go for it.. and I am so glad I did!” After high school, Josie hopes
to become a feature twirler for a major university.
McKenzie Gomez, Sophomore, Competition Level: Intermediate
McKenzie has been twirling
for 13 years with Coaches Lynn Dell Harrell, Sheri Carter, and Caroline
Carothers. The competition title she is the most proud of earning is the USTA
Texas State Strut Champion. Her favorite competition trick is her double
walkover, and her favorite field trick is her toss, leap, walkover. In baton
twirling McKenzie has been most inspired by the current Miss Texas, Caroline
Carothers. “She inspires me because of her grace, kindness, and her love of the
sport”. McKenzie’s favorite moment as a twirler was when she was twirling at an
away game against a rival school and “the entire student section of that school
was cheering for me when I was catching all of my tricks”. After high school,
McKenzie plans to go to college and twirl at a major university.
Fun Facts!
Favorite Color = Light
Pink (McKenzie), Pink (Josie)
Favorite Movie = “Frozen”
(McKenzie)
Favorite Music = Pop
(Josie)
Favorite Food = Pizza
(McKenzie)
Favorite Animal = Dachshund
(Josie)
Favorite Quote
McKenzie = “I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Josie = “Practice
makes progress”
When they are not twirling, they love to…
McKenzie = “Hang out
with friends and catch up on sleep”
Josie = “I really like
to read”
Something people may not know about them is…
McKenzie = “I can sing
and play guitar”
Josie = “I love baking”
Most Helpful Tip from Their Coach…
McKenzie = “Keep my
grades up so that I can twirl in college”
Josie = “Have ‘soft’
hands while catching”
We had a great time getting to learn more about Josie and McKenzie this week. We are sad to see the weekly Friday Night Light feature coming to an end, but it is time to move on to bigger and better things... competition season! Don't worry though, we will be back next week for one more post to bring our season full circle. In the meantime, remember... GO ROCK! GO BAND! GO ROCK BAND!
We hope you have enjoyed another edition of our Friday Night Lights Feature. While we are no longer taking nominations for this segment, we are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Please contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com, and we would love to hear more about it!
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