Friday Night Lights Feature - Saint Pius X High School Twirler

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

We hope everyone is ready for some Halloween fun! We can't wait to see all the posts of everyone in their costumes and enjoying the evening. If you or your twirler has a cute twirling related costume, send us a pic, and we will share it on our Facebook Page! Now, lets get on to the main event for this evening...

For this week's Friday Night Lights Feature we are headed over to Houston to meet the Saint Pius X High School Feature Twirler - Anita Hopmann!

Anita was given the great opportunity to be her school's twirler. As this was not a normal role at her high school before she attended, the audition process was a little more complicated than normal. "There was a lengthy discussion with my school administration and band director about having a twirler perform with the band and as a solo feature including videos and coach interviews". After holding tight to her dream, it was all able to work out in Anita's favor, thanks to her knowing the importance of determination and perseverance. When it comes to twirling, she says it has given her many things, but most importantly it has taught her that "giving up never gets you anywhere".

The experiences she has gained twirling for her high school are ones she will never forget. She has been able to introduce her community to the potential a twirler can bring. One moment especially sticks out for her. "When I twirled fire batons on the field for the first time it was amazing. It was so memorable because we did not tell anyone other than the school officials that I was doing it.  Everyone was so excited and shocked!”

Being the only twirler at her high school, there has been a lot for Anita to learn too. The most important thing she has learned, and the advice she would pass on to a future high school twirler is to "never let the crowd scare you. They will love you even if you think you did not perform well, the crowd loves you!”

As we have learned about Anita bringing twirling into the Saint Pius X community, let's learn a little more about Anita herself...

Anita Hopmann

Senior, Competition Level: Intermediate

Anita has been twirling for six years with Coaches Robin Crossland and Trenton Haltom. Her favorite competition trick is “an illusion toss which I catch backhand behind my back in a spin” and her favorite field tricks are when she is doing three baton and does tricks with two under the third. In baton twirling she has been most inspired by current University of Texas Feature Twirler, Erica Kuntz. After high school she plans to go to medical school to study pediatric gastroenterology.

Fun Facts!

Favorite Color – Yellow

Favorite Movie – “Fly Boys”

Favorite Band – Fun

Favorite Candy – Sour Patch Watermelon

Favorite Quote – “Be fearless in pursuit of what sets your soul on fire” 

Most memorable advice from her coach…

“There’s no crying in baseball or twirling”

When she is not twirling she loves to... 

“Perform in theatre productions”

Something you may not know about her…

“I have a connective tissue issue and all my joints are hyper elastic, double jointed.  It makes some movements very difficult.”

Favorite Moment of Field Twirling… 

“When I was performing at a football game, I caught my friend in the crowds’ eye and flashed a smile and blew a kiss at her and she started screaming, it was so funny and sweet since she has been my best friend for 17 years.”

Funniest Twirling Moment…

“My funniest moment was when I busted my lip on the competition floor and after finished my solo, I smiled at Coach Robin with a mouth full of blood because ‘there is no crying in baseball and twirling’. It was my first real competition solo!”

Best Band Inside Joke…

“Whenever I perform or the Color Guard performs we scream at each other that we are their biggest fan, we love them, etc.”

What will she miss the most when she graduates…  

“I will miss the late Friday nights at the games with my friends, the shouting, cheering, and of course performing, which is the highlight of my year!” 

We really enjoyed this chance to get to know Anita a little better. We wish her the best of luck with the rest of her senior year. Keep wowing that Saint Pius X community! 

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. 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? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.