Week one of playoffs is in the books. Half the teams still in action this week have now completed their season, but for the ones that are still in the game, those Friday Night Lights sure are just as bright as they shine on those twirlers supporting their teams.
Each season this blog likes to get to know our awesome Texas 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.
This week’s Friday Night Lights Feature is the Melissa High School Feature Twirler!
Melissa High School, located in Melissa, Texas (northeast of Dallas), is the home of the Cardinals, and the first ever MHS Feature Twirler, Hollyn Fleming-Stump! After meeting with the band director in the spring, Hollyn performed a routine in front of three judges and was selected to be the inaugural Cardinal Twirler.
While twirling is new to MHS, the school traditions run deep. Hollyn tells us her favorite tradition occurs at the end of every football game. “After the game is over, the band plays the school song and the football guys, and everyone in the stands, will stop in point their finger towards the sky.”
She has also had the opportunity to work alongside the marching band, not just as a twirler, but also as a part of the Colorguard and Band. When asked what the best part of marching season was for her, she told us it was, "Definitely Summer Band Camp!" Hollyn also enjoys all of the band inside jokes (Simba!), and the morning practice runs before school starts.
Now that we have learned more about how she became the MHS Twirler, let’s learn more about Hollyn!
Competition Level: Beginner/Intermediate (USTA)
Hollyn has been twirling for four years with Coaches Sherry Thompson, Lori Perkins, and Alicia Olivier. The competition title she is the proudest of winning was first place in her Freestyle at Regionals. Her favorite competition trick is a toss, leap, front walkover and her favorite field trick is a toss aerial. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by Karissa Wimberly and Savannah Miller. After High School she plans to go to college and possibly twirl at the collegiate level.
Fun Facts!
Favorite Quote…
“What is hard now will someday be your warmup.”
When she is not twirling, she loves to…
“There is not much time after twirling, Colorguard, Band, and homework!”
Something people might not know about her is…
“I love snakes.”
Most memorable advice from her Coach…
“If you are not bleeding, it’s a rip off.”
Favorite moment as a competition baton twirler…
“Performing an all catch, perfect freestyle routine at Regionals to Wonder Woman’s Wrath.”
Favorite moment as a field baton twirler…
“When the little girls are in awe watching me, and all the support I get from the stands!"
Funniest moment as a baton twirling…
“When the cheer coach's two-year-old daughter ran and got one of my batons and brought it to me while I was performing a routine. I had to finish that routine with two batons.”
Through her many hours practicing for being a competition and a field twirler, Hollyn has learned many skills, but she finds persistence to be the one she values most. “No matter when you start, with hard work and dedication, you can move up.”
Finally, we asked her what advice she would pass on to twirlers wanting to one day twirl for their High School, and she told us that she suggests getting some chalk. “When learning a new trick, chalk mark the distance of that trick and then practice your tossing the length of the chalk marks.”
We want to say thank you to Hollyn and we hope she had an amazing football season!
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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