Friday Night Lights Feature - Shiner High School

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Happy last week of October! How are we already here? The football season is winding down, and the competition season is about to start. Just a few more twirlers left to feature, including this wonderful trio!

This week’s Friday Night Lights Feature is with the Shiner High School Twirlers!

Photo Credit to @photosbyloriraabe

Shiner High School, located in Shiner, Texas, is the home of the Comanches, and a long legacy of excellence! This legacy also includes a great history of twirling thanks to their super supportive band director and amazing community! Join us today as we get to know Shiner Feature Twirler, Keely Knesek, and Shiner Line Twirlers, Evelyn Johnson and Eve Roberts!

We had to know more about this legacy of excellence, and Keely told us about some amazing Shiner facts. “Shiner is a very competitive school; we strive to be the best in everything we do. Last year, our band won the gold medal at the state 4A UIL marching contest, with the show The Witch and The Saint, and the year before we won the silver medal with the show Return of the Samurai. All of our sports are phenomenal and while I’ve been in high school, we have had countless teams make state in numerous sports. A fun fact about getting to twirl in Shiner is that because we are a very small school, with Pre-K through 12th grade in two buildings, everybody comes to the pep rallies, football games, and band competitions. With this said, it means as a high schooler I get to look out on the playground and see elementary kids with batons because they saw me at a pep rally.” Evelyn also mentioned the football team's continued success... and their polka band! “Our school was back-to-back state champions in football in 2020 and 2021. In addition to football and band, we have also advanced to state in track, golf, cross country, and UIL... We also have a polka band who plays during the 3rd quarter of football games, and the elementary students learn how to sing the Shiner Song in Czech.”

To get these great twirling positions, we wanted to know what their audition process was. According to Keely, “the audition process for twirler at Shiner High School entails many different pieces. For line twirlers, there are basic fundamentals, a routine that the individual creates, and an interview. For feature twirlers, there are more fundamentals that are more complex than line fundamentals, and a second routine that the individual creates as well. To get the opportunity to try out for feature twirler you have been on the line for at least one year and at the next auditions you first have to make the line again and then you can do your second set of fundamentals and second routine, to try out for feature twirler.”

With such rich traditions and great programs, we had to know what their favorite things about attending SHS were. Keely had a whole list! “There are so many things that I love about my school, one thing that I really love is our school spirit. Shiner is what I would call tiny but mighty, and no matter how far the game is or if right here at home the fans in the stands, show up to support the school that they love. The thing I love most about that school spirit is that everybody has it. At the beginning of every quarter of a game, we do the Comanche Chant. This is a song that the band plays, and everybody gets on their feet and does “The Chop”, and that is where the saying Chop Em’ comes from. The song is very similar to Florida State, and it is something I look forward to every football season.” While Evelyn enjoys the traditions as well, her favorite thing is the people. “As a whole, we are all kind, talented, fun, and extremely hard working. Nearly everybody is a great friend and a wonderful overall person. We are all always there for each other, and we are very supportive of others' successes. So many people here feel almost like family to me, and I’m so blessed to be a part of this community.”

We wanted to learn more about the traditions at SHS, and the twirler had plenty of favorites to share. According to Keely, “Shiner has many traditions, some big, and some little, but all hold the same place of importance and love. One that I already mentioned is The Comanche Chant. Another school tradition is that our school song is a polka song. This is a super important tradition and cared about tradition because most of the people in Shiner are Czech and German. Another tradition that Shiner has, is our pep rallies. As I mentioned, our pep rallies include everybody from Pre-K through 12th grade and many parents come as well. Our pep rallies always have themes, but some fan favorites are; blackout, which is our glow-in-the-dark pep rally, Comanches through the decades, in which each high school and junior high grade gets a decade and has to dress up for and dance to music from that decade, pink out, this pep rally is always the first one in October, we have cancer survivors and people battling cancer walk-in with the football boys and get front row seats for all of the pep rally activities. Lastly, an absolutely amazing tradition is our graduation walk. At the end of the school year graduating seniors and graduating kindergarteners walk through the halls as everybody claps and cheers for them.” 

The pep rallies seem to be a popular tradition, as that is Evelyn's favorite thing at Shiner as well. “One of my favorite traditions are the pep rallies. We always have a parade followed by a community pep rally for Homecoming. Each class decorates a float, and we all ride around town. We also have a black-out pep rally each year. We turn out all the lights and use black lights, glow sticks, and we twirl light-up batons. Another one of my favorite pep rallies is the pink-out pep rally for breast cancer awareness. We have all of the local women who have fought against breast cancer represented at the pep rally to honor their bravery and ability to push through when times are tough. It’s truly special.”

With so much excitement around their school, we wanted to know what they were looking forward to the most, and their appearance at the State UIL Marching Band competition next week was high on Keely's list. “This year there are countless things that I am looking forward to, but something that I am looking forward to the most is marching band. This year and last, I have been a main character in the marching show. Last year I was the saint, in the show 'The Witch and The Saint'. This year I am Little Red Riding Hood, in the show 'By The Lanterns Light'. I am looking forward to not only what the outcome is at the contest, but also the memories made with my bandmates.”

As Keely is enjoying her time as an upperclassman, Evelyn is just looking to take in all the things that her freshman year will bring. "I am looking forward to spending as much time with my friends and family as I can, though it’s difficult at times because of how busy I am. I’m also excited to play high school sports and be a part of other extracurricular activities.”

How do they keep this legacy of twirlers going in their small town? The high school twirlers play a big role in supporting the middle school twirlers, and they also hold camps! For the past two summers the Shiner Twirlers have hosted their own camp. The 3-day camp is full day for jr. high and high school twirlers and half day for mini campers in 1st grade and up. The mini campers are then invited to join the twirlers on the sidelines at one of two home games for pregame and the first quarter. While dates have not been set yet for the 2024 camp, those interested can email natalieknesek@att.net to be added to the contact list.

Now that we have learned more about life in Shiner, let's learn more about a couple of these twirlers!

Keely Knesek, Junior
Competition Level: Intermediate
Keely has been twirling for 11 years. She is currently a member of the Heart of Texas Twirlers and is coached by Sara Rudin and Mary Ann Pozzi. The competition title she is the proudest of earning was the 2018 Twirltacular Hall of Fame. “This was my very first title win and I was so proud of myself.” Her favorite competition trick is anything two baton, and her favorite field trick is anything three baton or any split trick. In baton twirling she has been most inspired by current University of Southern California Feature Twirler, Emily Tutnik, and former Baylor Golden Girl, Adaline Bebo. After High School, Keely is still deciding her next steps. “I, as a junior in high school, am often asked the question of what I want to do after high school, and I do not have much of an answer. I love twirling and want to twirl in college, but that is all I know. I know that one day I want to work with kids, but I do not know yet what career I hope to have.”

Evelyn Johnson, Freshman
Evelyn has been twirling for three years. She started twirling in Middle School, and currently works with SHS sponsor, Dr. Natalie Knesek. Her favorite field trick is anything that involves a jump or a kick. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by former Shiner Feature Twirler, Lilyana Gipson. “She is like a second mom to me, and I love her so so so so so so much!” After high school, Evelyn hopes to go to college at Texas A&M and possibly play volleyball there. “Once I graduate college though, I want to come home to Shiner and become an art teacher and a coach. I also want to live on land and have a big family, animals, and a garden. I also want to travel the world and maybe start a small art studio or give painting, sports, twirling, or music lessons.”

Fun Facts!

• Favorite Color: Lilac (Keely), “There’s too many good ones to choose from” (Evelyn)
• Favorite TV show or Movie: Friends & Tangled (Keely), “I love anything that my mom watched when she was growing up, musicals, Disney princess movies, not-corny-romances, and “Enola Holmes.” (Evelyn)
• Favorite Book or Podcast: Any Non-Fiction or Historical Fiction (Keely), “ I love the Harry Potter books, the Red Queen series, “The Girl Who Drank the Moon,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and historical fiction. Especially those that take place around WW2.” (Evelyn)
• Favorite Food or Drink: Anything Italian & Dr. Pepper (Keely), “BBQ, Dr. Pepper, sweet tea, chocolate, salad, baked potatoes, and anything else that tastes good.” (Evelyn)

Favorite Quote or Life Motto: 

• Keely - “You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.” -Dolly Parton
• Evelyn - “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

When they are not twirling, they love to… 

• Keely - “When I am not twirling, I am doing countless numbers of 4-H projects. I have been a very active member of 4-H since 3rd grade. With 4-H I have traveled across the country, traveled to Spain, and learned countless numbers of skills; from how to raise an animal to how to sew a dress to leadership skills and so much more. In 4-H I am also Halfmoon 4-H club President, Lavaca County 4-H Council 2nd Vice Chairman, District 11 3rd Vice Chairman, and a Healthy Texas Youth Ambassador. Some school-related functions that I participate in are the Student Council, where I am Vice Chairman, FCA, where I am a FCA group leader, and NHS, where I am the Character Pillar Chair.”
• Evelyn - “I love to play sports, draw, play my flute, play the piano, come up with names, sleep, and spend time with my friends and family.”

SHS twirlers pictured with the Shiner Jr. High Twirlers, 

Tatum Carson, Jewel Caka, Lanie Bolom, Allie Garcia, 

Brynlee Langhoff, & Alena Winkenwerder. 

Something people might not know about them…

• Keely - “Something people know about me is that I live in what could be considered a ghost town. I live on land between Shiner and Gonzales. When the railroad went through years ago towns popped up along it and where I live is Maurin. It is a town that never reached a population over 40, and only ever had two businesses, one post office, and a rail station. My family was here in 1889 when it was founded and will be in this same ghost town for years to come.”

The best non twirling life skill they have gained from baton twirling is…

• Keely - “The best non twirling life skill I have gained from baton twirling is to go about everything with joy. Twirling has good days and bad but when you go with joy even the bad days are good. This is a great outlook on every challenge you face.”
• Evelyn - “The best life skill I’ve learned is to push through and still work hard when I’m having a rough time and I really just want to go home, take a shower, and go to sleep.”

Advice to future high school twirlers…

• Keely - “Have fun and twirl with joy! When I started twirling on the field, I thought that I had to always be perfect, and while no drops are great and the idea of everything going to plan sounds amazing, it does not always come to fruition. I now perform with my smile and presentation just as much as I do with my batons.”
• Evelyn - “Some advice I’d give to future twirlers is to not get nervous when performing. I always tell myself that everyone watching me will either never see me again, or I don’t care what they think of me, or that they will love me anyway. If you do happen to mess up, just take a breath and find a point to start back up. It’s alright to make mistakes. I promise that there are much worse things.”

Funniest memory as a baton twirler…

• Keely - “One of my most recent funny memories is that not once but twice in one day I kicked myself in the head. In the pep rally one morning I was performing for the elementary kids and did a high kick and kicked myself in the face. Later that day I was performing our halftime show and did a ring leap in which I kicked myself in the back of the head. Needless to say, my head hurt pretty bad that day.”
• Evelyn - “One of the funniest memories I’ve had as a twirler was the first time, I got to know my friends Lilyana Gipson, Megan Winkenwerder, and Keely Knesek. We had just arrived in San Antonio for twirl camp, and we decided to go eat dinner at Raising Canes. My mom is a teacher at the high school, and she helps a lot with the twirlers, so she was there too. Before we ate, of course, all of us kids went to wash our hands, and I sprayed water on Lilyana. She then turned around and sprayed me back, and we kept on going back and forth. We sprayed each other and everyone else in the bathroom with us, while Megan frantically dried off the floor, begging us to stop making a mess. All of a sudden, Lilyana turned around with a handful of water and she dumped it on me. I was soaked. We were all in tears of laughter, when Lilyana came up to me, gave me a hug and said, “Don’t tell your mom!””

Favorite thing about marching season…

• Keely - “My favorite thing about marching season is by far the memories and experiences. Marching band has been a huge part of my life since 8th grade because our 8th graders play with our high school band. With that being said I love the memories that I have made with not only the people older than me but also the ones much younger than me. I also love how big of dreams and goals my band has. We push each other to continuously be better, and time and time again it pays off.”
• Evelyn - “My favorite thing about marching season is getting to spend so much time with my friends, many of which I wouldn’t see very much otherwise.”

Favorite tradition or inside joke within your band program…

• Keely - “Anything for my band director, literally anything! But also, Morning Jam Sessions! Each morning at the beginning of practice we stretch and jam out to music. Normally that music is, any One Direction song, any Disney song, or any Taylor Swift song.”
• Evelyn - “We love to call our director “The Prettiest Princess.””

What will you miss the most when marching season is over?

• Keely - “I will miss the field, the fans, and the moment of hearing our name called as first. I love performing on the field, it allows me to perform for so many people. In twirling on the field, I have learned to perform with joy every day and I love that I get to spread my favorite sport. I’ll also miss the moments of anticipation at awards, the feelings of excitement, nervousness, and joy. Most of all when marching season is over, I will miss the excitement of performing for the little kids watching, from the fence line of the field.”
• Evelyn - “I will miss the feeling I get this time of year. It’s when everything seems to be new, and I haven’t gotten sick of school, my lack of sleep, or the cold, yet. Fall brings football, volleyball, hunting, Thanksgiving, marching band, and it means Christmas is on the way! Fall, and especially the marching band, brings so many happy memories to my mind and I know I will miss them.”

We want to thank these twirlers for sharing their Game Day with us, and we wish them and the entire Shiner Marching Band good luck as they take on UIL State next week! Chop Em Comanches!

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.