Hello Texas Twirl Fans!
We are back and it is Football Season! We could not be happier to see twirlers all over Texas taking the field again, and we can’t wait to see many more amazing moments as we move forward. As those Friday Night Lights turn back on in stadiums all over Texas, we hope to see everyone continue to enjoy the sights and sounds of football teams, marching bands, and our favorite, lots of talented Texas baton twirlers!
Each season this blog likes to get to know many of our awesome Texas twirlers a little better by learning about their experiences. We will be meeting many High School twirlers throughout the season with the Friday Night Lights Features and discovering more about our Texas Collegians with the Collegiate Twirler Spotlights. We will also be having many of our High School and Collegiate twirlers take over our Social Media Story for their Game Days! Make sure to follow us on Instagram @twirlingiscatchingtx or at facebook.com/twirlingiscatchingtx so you don't miss a thing!
This season’s first Friday Night Lights Feature is the Liberty Hill High School Feature Twirler!
Liberty Hill High School is located in Liberty Hill, Texas, a suburb northwest of Austin. It is the home of the Panthers, and a team many around Texas are familiar with because they make it through many, many rounds of playoffs each season. This year LHHS is also home to their first Feature Twirler since the 1980's... Shaylee Sjolander!
Shaylee's journey to becoming the Liberty Hill Feature Twirler was a little different than most. When Shaylee was a freshman, twirling was not an option available to her, so she spent the last three years as a member of their dance team, even serving as first lieutenant during her junior year. However, as her sights turn to the possibility of collegiate twirling, she reached out to the new band director for her senior year to see what he thought, and he was very excited about the possibilities. Never having a twirler before, they decided to have her performance at UIL State serve as her audition. "My band director came to watch me at UIL where I actually had a no drop routine which earned me a 1 AND my spot as the new Feature Twirler!"
There are so many things about LHHS that Shaylee loves, but nothing will top a Liberty Hill game day. "The entire town comes to watch. Panther nation has the best school spirit!!" With Game Day being such a big deal in Liberty Hill, we wanted to know what her favorite school tradition was, and she said it was definitely playing the fight song and the "train" after every touch down. "Every time we score the band yells 'Coal train pack the whole grain WOOOO!' and then we all cheer! It is so much fun!"
Now that we have learned a little about how she got here, let's learn more about Shaylee!
Competition Level: Advanced
Shaylee has been twirling for almost 11 years. She is a member of Twirl ATX and is coached by Ashley Wood. The competition title she is the proudest of earning is the 2022 Int. 16-year-old National Solo Winner as well as being the 2022 Int. Senior Texas State Solo & Pageant Winner. Her favorite competition trick is a toss layback catch blind. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by current Mizzou Feature Twirler, and Twirl ATX Teammate, Josie Linson. "Josie is the reason I started twirling! She has always been someone I look up to!" After High School, Shaylee hopes to earn her way into Veterinary school and study Animal Science & Medicine.
Fun Facts!
- Favorite Color – PINK!! "I love the color pink!"
- Favorite TV Show – Barbie: Life in the Dream House! "My team watched this for our Movie & PJ Night at AYOP, and it was so fun!"
- Favorite Book – "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
- Favorite Food – Chick Fil A!!!
Favorite Quote...
“If you ever feel like giving up, just remember there’s a little girl watching who wants to be just like you.”
When she is not twirling, she loves to...
"Dance and spend time with my family!"
Something most people might not know about me...
"My initials spell SAS"
The #1 non-twirling life skill she has learned from baton is...
"Confidence!! Baton twirling has given me so much confidence throughout my life and I wouldn’t be who I am today without it!"
Most Memorable Advice from her Coach...
"Go out there and do your best! If you forget or mess up, nobody knows except you, so don’t show it and keep going!"
Advice to Future Twirlers...
"That trick or skill may seem impossible now, and it may take years to get or perfect, but you will get it eventually, so don’t give up!"
Favorite Memory as a Baton Twirler...
"Our team did a routine to Pretty Little Liars, and it was my favorite routine we have ever done! Everyone was so engaged with the routine which is what made it so much fun!!"
Funniest Memory as a Baton Twirler...
"One year we were going to a competition, and I forgot my batons at home! I ended up borrowing one of my teammates batons and we traded it off all day long! Later that day I ended up winning the Fiesta Cup twirl off, and it was so funny that it was with someone else’s baton!"
With this being her first season as the Feature Twirler, it has also been Shaylee's first year with the marching band. We wanted to know what her favorite part has been so far, and she said it was "learning how hard the band works and seeing how much effort it takes to get the end result!"
Finally, we wanted to know what Shaylee was most looking forward to this year, and what she would miss the most when the season was over. "I am so looking forward to spending my senior year as the Feature Twirler and getting the opportunity to represent my sport and my school at the same time! However, I will definitely miss making memories with my new team and friends when the season is over! They bring me so much joy!"
We want to thank Shaylee for sharing her Game Day with us this past Friday Night, and we know she will continue to be an amazing representative for both baton twirling and her community. Sending her best wishes for an amazing senior year! Go Panthers!
We hope you have enjoyed this edition of our FNL 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!
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