Another Thursday night under those… Thursday Night Lights? With so many wonderful twirlers all around Texas, we are happy to watch twirling every night of the week!
Each season this blog likes to get to know some of these awesome twirlers a little better by learning about them and their experiences. We will be meeting a new High School twirler each Friday, and discovering more about our Texas Collegians during the week. Make sure to follow us at facebook.com/twirlingiscatchingtx or on Instagram @twirlingiscatchingtx for live content and Insta-story take overs by some of your favorites.
We know you were expecting this post tomorrow, but this week we have something fascinating to share. Did you know there is a High School with THIRTY FIVE twirlers? Yeah! Imagine what that looks like on a football field? We wanted to make sure we highlighted this amazing group, but there were just too many to do in one post, so decided to break it in to two posts.
This week’s Thursday Night Lights Feature is the Henderson High School Feature Twirlers!
Henderson High School, located in Henderson, Texas (near Tyler), is the home of the Lions, and a twirling group that is 35 twirlers strong. This group includes 2 Feature Twirlers and 33 line twirlers. In a group that big, you really must be impressive to stand out and earn a Feature Twirler spot, and HHS Feature Twirlers Jana Higgs and Grace Lane have proven to be great choices for that role.
We asked Jana and Grace what it takes to be named a Feature Twirler for Henderson High School, and they told us, “Our Feature Twirlers are part of the twirling line as well as Featured. We learn a group routine and perform a solo as well. The solo needs to be an example of what you would do on the field if you were named the feature. Then you wait for results!”
These ladies love getting to lead the Henderson twirlers and be a part of game days. They told us their favorite moment of twirling together happens every Friday Night as they love getting to perform for the football fans, and it is what they will miss the most when the season is over.
They also have a blast together! Between dancing in the stands with their friends during the football games, including the special stand dance they do to the “La Macarena”, and performing their routine to the HHS Fight Song for the fans, Jana and Grace are having the time of their lives! Sometimes they even get a change to laugh at themselves, too. They told us that one time they made it on the @twirkers Instagram page when Grace got hit on the head while practicing. Have to love when that happens!
Now that we have learned more about Game Day, let’s learn more about the two HHS Feature Twirlers!
Competition Level: Beginner
Jana has been twirling for 9 years and she is coached by Paige Keitt and Kayli Mickey-McIntosh. Her favorite field trick is anything three baton. She is the proudest of winning the title of Premier Performer Senior Grand Champion. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by Adaline Bebo. After High School she hopes to attend ETBU to become a nurse practitioner.
Competition Level: Beginner
Grace has been twirling for 4.5 years and is coached by Paige Keitt, Kayli Mickey-McIntosh, and Patti Mickey. Her favorite field trick is a toss front walkover. She is the proudest of earning the title of Junior Beginner Southwest Regional Two Baton Winner. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by Savannah Miller. After High School she hopes to twirl for the University of Arkansas.
Fun Facts!
Favorite Color – Pink (Jana), Light Blue (Grace)
Favorite Vacation – Alaska (Jana), Disney World (Grace)
Favorite Food – Italian (Jana), Texas Roadhouse (Grace)
Favorite Movie – Freaky Friday (Grace)
Favorite Quote…
Jana – Isaiah 43:2
Grace – “When I am afraid, I will trust in him” Psalms 56:3
When they are not twirling, they love to…
Jana – “Hang out with my friends”
Grace – “Spend time with my friends”
Something people might not know about them is…
Jana – “I am a preacher’s kid”
Grace – “My dream car is a Mustang”
Most memorable advice from their coaches…
Jana – “Never say you can’t”
Grace – “Practice makes progress, not perfection”
We asked Jana and Grace what they consider to be the main life lesson they have learned from baton twirling, and they said patience. “Be patient and always persevere when you feel like giving up”.
Finally, we wanted to know what the best advice they had was for a future High School Feature Twirler. “Try new things you think you could never do! You might surprise yourself!”
We want to thank Jana and Grace for being our Thursday Night Lights Feature, and we can't wait to meet the rest of the Henderson High School twirlers tomorrow night! Go Lions!
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.
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