Friday Night Lights Feature - Austin High School Twirler

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Another week of those Friday Night Lights has come and gone, and we are already to the UIL Area Marching Contest week! We want to wish good luck to all our Texas Twirlers performing with their marching bands this coming weekend, whether you are playing an instrument, spinning with the guard, or twirling your baton. We know this week’s featured High School twirler will shining on the field as she represents as both her school’s Feature Twirler and Colorguard Co-Captain. 

This week’s Friday Night Lights Feature is the Austin High School Feature Twirler!

Stephen F. Austin High School, also known as Austin High, is located in the downtown area of Austin, Texas, and is the oldest high school in the Austin area. It is also the home of the Maroons and the Austin High Marching Band! While Austin High has a ton of history, one thing they have not had much of is baton twirling. While there have been twirlers at AHS in the past, it had been a long time since a twirler graced their fields, at least until AHS Feature Twirler Anna Lilie came to the school! 
 
Since there was not a formal audition process in place, we wanted to know how Anna was able to become the Feature Twirler for AHS. “There was not an audition process for Feature Twirler at Austin High. I basically started asking to twirl when I was in 7th grade, and the band director seemed to be receptive, but nothing formal was in place. Then, my Freshman year was the COVID year, so we didn’t march at all, but I zoomed with my Band Director for band class and he got to know me well. Finally, my Sophomore year I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to twirl until we were learning drill spots. My Band Director, Mr. Frock, put me in the middle of the circle on the field and said, “Don’t hit anyone with the baton and don’t let this get to your head!” That was the beginning of my high school twirling! Since then, I have had featured spots on the field throughout the UIL Marching Show.” 

Being the namesake school for a city like Austin, there are many things to love about attending AHS. As Anna tells us, “I love that the location of the school is in the heart of Austin along the shores of Lady Bird Lake! I also love all the amazing opportunities we have given to us since we are in downtown Austin!”

One of those opportunities even landed Anna on television! “Last year the Austin High School band was asked to perform at an American Idol taping in Austin. I was able to twirl and be featured on National TV representing Baton Twirling! It was a big secret that we did this so when it aired, we had people from all over texting and calling us to ask if I was twirling on American Idol!” 

Now that she is in her Junior year, and things are getting back to semi-normal after all that COVID brought, we wanted to see what Anna was most excited about this year, and she said it was getting the chance to continue to represent her school. “I’m really looking forward to more opportunities to twirl at school events!”

Now that we learned how she brought twirling back to AHS, let's learn more about Anna!
 

Anna Lilie, Junior
Competition Level: Advanced
Anna has been twirling for 10 years and is coached by Whitney Coons of Twirl ATX. The competition titles she is the proudest of earning were the 2022 Intermediate Junior Southwest Regional Pageant Winner and Miss DFW’s Outstanding Teen. Her favorite field trick is anything 3-Baton. “I love seeing all the reactions when I start juggling and doing multiple batons! I also love illusions!” In baton twirling, Anna has been inspired by many former and current Feature Twirlers that have come before her. “From the first twirling lesson, I really wanted to be like Josie Linson! She was always my “big sis” in twirling and I have enjoyed watching all she has achieved over the years and being able to cheer her on! I have also always looked up to Whitney Coons, Erica Kuntz, Adaline Bebo, & Caroline Carothers Reed as role models as well.” After high school, Anna hopes to come a feature twirler at a University. 

Fun Facts!

• Favorite Color – “My favorite color is pink because it just bring me so much joy!”
• Favorite TV Show – “My absolute favorite show is ‘The Office’ because no matter how many times you watch it you catch different jokes and little details you didn’t see the first time!”
• Favorite Book – “My favorite book is ‘Raymie Nightingale’, because she is a baton twirler and she is taking lessons to learn how to twirl for her talent for a pageant.”  
• Favorite Food – “I love chicken because no matter where I am and can usually find some type of chicken to eat. Plus, I never get bored with it because chicken can be made a ton of different ways!”

Favorite Quote…
“I have tons of mottos that I love and love by. One of my favorites is ‘Kill them with kindness, because nothing can be stronger than being kind to people!’ Another one being “You Do You”. That is something that my Mom would tell me when I was little and now it’s something that I live by and I always love to tell others to “Be proud of who you are! YOU DO YOU!”

When she is not twirling, she loves to...
“Go out to our family lake house and relax, wakeboard, and play with my family as I don’t get to see them often!”

Somethings most people might not know about her...
“Some facts about me are I play the flute, I’m dyslexic, and I also have been diagnosed with Scoliosis. I have also competed in the Miss Texas’ Outstanding Teen Organization for two years and will be going back this coming summer representing DFW (Dallas Ft. Worth)! People are always confused about how I live in Austin but compete at Miss Texas with different city titles than where I live. I am able to do this because there are some titles that are “closed” and you must live in that area to compete and hold that title, but there are many “open” titles, which means you do not have to live in that city to hold that title…DFW is one of them!

The best non-twirling life skill she has gained from baton twirling is… 
“Twirling has taught me so much! It has taught me that nothing is just handed to you, and you have to work for everything and every title you want! The interview part has also taught me life skills on how to interview for jobs and talk to others! “

Most Memorable Advice from her coach…
“My coaches, Whitney and Erica, and I have an inside joke we made up when we were practicing for my Miss Texas stuff. We like to say “TIDO!” It’s an acronym for something funny that no one else would understand but it helps me remember to be confident and showy.”

Advice To Future High School Twirlers…
“Listen to your coach because they do know what they are talking about! When they say to practice, actually practice! Also don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself when you need something, that’s just a good life skill to have.”

Funniest Memory as a Baton Twirler…
“I was at Regionals a few years ago competing in x-strut. My Coach, Whitney, told me to be really sharp and strong in my baton work. I was doing that, and the next thing I know, my baton flew out of my hands and literally across the gym and almost hit a judge in the back of the head. Very unexpected and embarrassing, but I was doing what Whitney told me to do, just a little too much obviously! Sadly, I didn’t do so well in that x-strut because I was a little overtime due to chasing the baton to get it back.”

Favorite thing about marching season… 
“I love how close we all get and during marching season, and how the band is like our second family!”

Favorite Tradition or inside joke within the band program…
“My favorite band tradition is the huge water balloon fight on the last day of summer band camp! There are thousands of water balloons, and we get to cool off and celebrate all the hard work we’ve done for the last month and a half.”

What will she miss the most when marching season is over…
“I will miss all the games and the late nights dancing up in the stands with all of my friends and all of the weird conversations on the ride back to school.”

We would like to thank Anna for sharing her awesome Game Day Takeover with us, and we wish her the best of luck with competition season and her journey to Miss Texas OT this coming summer! Go Maroons!

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.