Collegiate Twirler Spotlight - University of Missouri Feature Twirler

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

The final week of October means we are almost into competition time, and football season is starting to wrap up. It also means our senior twirlers are beginning to have their “lasts” of their final football seasons in their current positions. If you were following the @twirlingiscatchingtx Insta-story on Saturday you got to see this week’s Featured Collegian as she experienced her last homecoming Game Day as a Feature Twirler in CoMO, and we know she had an amazing time!

This week’s Collegiate Twirler Spotlight is the University of Missouri Feature Twirler!

The University of Missouri, also known as MIZZOU, is located in Columbia, Missouri, and is the home of the Tigers, and a long legacy of amazing baton twirlers. Wrapping up her fourth year of rocking the gold and black in Faurot Field is Texas girl, and University of Missouri Feature Twirler, Josie Linson! 

Four years ago this spring, Josie got the call to audition at Mizzou, and left her audition with a twirling position that would change her life in all the best ways. We asked Josie what made her choose Mizzou, and she told us it just felt like home. “I chose Mizzou because they have an awesome Pre-Physical Therapy program, and I knew I wanted to go out of state. My audition was the cherry on top though, and when I met Band Director Dr. Knopps and my co-features, I knew that I had found my home away from home!”

Making the choice to go out of state is always a difficult one for many incoming collegians, but for Josie it was a choice she will never regret. “I believe that going out of state was the best choice I ever made for myself. I knew that I wanted to go farther away from home to be able to meet new people and experience a different environment, and I also just wanted to live in a completely new state! The first few weeks were hard and I struggled with homesickness, and it can be hard sometimes when you need help and your parents aren't close by, but the friends I have helped me through it! I will say that I miss Tex Mex food and I miss the warm weather, but Missouri autumns are beautiful! If you are considering going out of state, my advice for you is to do it! Take the leap and experience a new place. You will find your people and it will truly be the best four years of your life!”

At Mizzou, Josie gets twirls alongside some amazing co-features including Carlee Fenton, Ella Earnest, and Courtney Detwiler. The ability to twirl well with the co-features is a big part of the selection process. We asked Josie how that all worked, and she told us, “At first, you submit a video that is due at the end of January, and if you are invited for a live audition, you come to Mizzou in March and try out for a judging panel. You will perform individual routines as well as a group routine with current feature twirlers to make sure that you work well together.” Luckily Josie instantly found a connection with the other Mizzou twirlers and has felt right at home since. 

Being a part of a great program like the Mizzou Marching Band, there have also been some benefits to the position. “There is a $1,000 scholarship that each twirler receives as well as the band paying for new pregame costumes as needed and some game day essentials such as a backpack, jazz shoes, new batons, etc.” In order to earn a spot at Mizzou, we wanted to know if once offered the position, the twirler has it all four years or if they have to re-audition each year, and Josie told us, “We actually have just changed the process, so now the Mizzou Feature Twirlers have to re-audition annually.”

In addition to making memories that she will always cherish as a Feature Twirler, just being a student at the University of Missouri has been a great opportunity for Josie. “My favorite thing about Mizzou is how beautiful the campus is as well as the friendships I have been able to make through Marching Mizzou and my academic classes through the School of Health Professions.” 

Being a part of the Mizzou community, there are many great traditions, but there is one particular tradition that goes all the way back to 1911! “My favorite Game Day Tradition is marching Pregame, but school wide, I think it is amazing that we invented homecoming! The homecoming parade is so fun every year, and I am glad I got to share it with everyone with my takeover on Saturday!”

Finally, as Josie is experiencing all the “lasts” that come with Senior Season, we wanted to know what she is the most excited about, and she told us that she can’t wait for Thanksgiving Break! “I am really looking forward to marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Mizzou Band and my co-features!” What a great way to wrap up a wonderful four years with the Marching Mizzou!

Now that we have learned more about Mizzou and Josie’s experiences, let’s learn more about her!

Josie Linson
Josie is a Senior from Austin, Texas, that is majoring in Health Science with an emphasis in Pre Physical Therapy and a Minor in Spanish. She is an advanced competitor that has been twirling for 14 years as a member of Twirl ATX and “my wonderful coaches are Whitney King Coons and Ashley Wood!” Her favorite competition trick is her horizontal leg pop trick, and her favorite field trick is anything with fire baton. In baton twirling, Josie has been most inspired by former University of Texas Feature Twirler, Erica Kuntz, and Former Mizzou Feature Twirlers, Halie Hart and Lindsey McCormick. After graduating this May, Josie has plans to move on to graduate school. “I will be attending physical therapy school and getting my Doctor of Physical Therapy.”
 

Fun Facts!

• Favorite Color – Turquoise
• Favorite TV Show – “Right now, I’m watching ‘Grey’s Anatomy’!”
• Favorite Food Item – Chicken Nuggets

Favorite Quote… 
“Well behaved women rarely make history” – Eleanor Roosevelt 

When she is not twirling, she loves to…
“Listen to podcasts and go to coffee shops.”

The best non-twirling life skill she has gained from baton twirling is…
“Time management! All those hours of juggling schoolwork on top of band/individual/team practice really helps with time management and organization skills, and I am stronger in that aspect of life because of it.” 

Most Memorable Advice from her Coach…
“You’ve worked so hard to get to this moment, so go out there and just have fun!”

Advice to Future Twirlers…
“For me, practice is more fun when I listen to music that energizes me. When you find a way to have fun when twirling (even in practice), it makes your twirling all the better!”

Favorite Memory as a Baton Twirler… 
“My favorite memory is when I got to travel as a United States Twirling Ambassador to Peru in 2018. I met some wonderful friends on that trip and it truly changed my life.”

Favorite Band Tradition…
“During band camp week, we play a ton of spirit games and hold a “Spirit Cup” competition. My favorite part is the skits that each section puts together for the competition, and the twirlers and drum majors actually won the skit contest this year!”

Advice for any twirlers going in to college auditions…
“Breathe, and remember that you have prepared so long for this. At the end of the day, it is about having fun. The best college twirlers are the ones who look like they are having the time of their lives on the field!”

We enjoyed learning more about Mizzou and Josie! We wish Josie an amazing rest of her senior season, and we can't wait to see what is next for her after this year. Mizzou-Rah! Go Tigers!

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.