Friday Night Lights Feature - Steele High School

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Welcome to Band-Tober! Every twirler that is a part of their marching band understands that Band-Tober means band, band, and more band all month long! It is an exhausting month, but we all know we love it, especially when it means more and more twirling on those fields!

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!

Our next Friday Night Lights Feature is the Steele High School Feature Twirlers!

Byron P. Steele High School, located in Cibolo, Texas, is the home of the Knights, and these two awesome senior Feature Twirlers, Micaiah Hubbard & Natalie DeLeon! 

As Seniors, these two have been able to spend their years together in the Black, Silver, and White, representing SHS as both Feature Twirlers and members of the Colorguard. We asked them what the process was to be able to be a Feature Twirler, and they said it all revolved around UIL. “The audition process for both of us was to participate in UIL Region twirling and receive a 1 rating from the judge. Then we could be a twirler the next season.”

A fun fact about Steele is that their mascot was going to be a Penguin, but these twirlers are very happy to be the Knights! As proud Knights, they get to take part in the many wonderful Steele traditions, but they say their favorite by far is the Blackout Pep Rally. “It takes place during homecoming week where everyone goes to our stadium in glowing items. Towards the end of the night the stadium lights turn off and all you can see is everything glowing. We love to bring out our glow batons and wear fun glowing accessories while we perform in front of our school.”

With this being their Senior Season, everything is their last, which has made the season extra special, but also reminds them of what they will miss next year, so they are savoring every moment. They told us the thing they are most looking forward to is the Battle of 3009. “It is a football game where we compete against our rival school. Since both highschools are located on either side of 3009, our entire community comes out to view the game. We both have a lot of fun at this game because we get to see people that we grew up with.”

Now that we have learned more about twirling at SHS, let’s learn more about the twirlers! 

Micaiah Hubbard, Senior
Competition Level: Beginner
Micaiah has been twirling for 4 years. She is a member of the Twirling Sweet Sensations, and is coached by Michele Pangrac. The competition title she is the proudest of earning was winning the 2023 Southwest Regional Basic Skills Pageant. Micaiah’s favorite competition trick is a toss illusion, and her favorite field trick is a toss leap. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by her Coach! “Mrs. Michele always pushes me to be my best while remaining one of my greatest supporters.” After high school, she plans to attend college to earn her Bachelor’s in Graphic Design, with the goal of becoming a graphic designer.

Natalie DeLeon, Senior
Competition Level: Intermediate
Natalie has been twirling for 6 years. She is a member of the Twirling Sweet Sensations and is coached by Michele Pangrac. The competition title she is the proudest of earning was when she won the Beginner 13-15 Texas State Pageant. Natalie’s favorite competition series is her Horizontal finger twirls “because I have cute moves/poses.” and her favorite field trick is a thumb toss under the leg catch reverse blind. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by former Miss Texas, Caroline Carothers Reed. After High School, Natalie plans on attending a university in Texas to earn a Bachelor's of Science in Communication Disorders in hopes of becoming a Speech Pathologist.

Fun Facts!

• Favorite Color - Pink (Micaiah), Orange (Natalie)
• Favorite Movie - “A Walk to Remember” (Micaiah), “Slumdog Millionaire” (Natalie)
• Favorite Book - “The ‘Darkest Minds’ Series” (Micaiah), “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (Natalie)

Must have Game Day snack/drink…

• Micaiah - “An ice-cold Coca-Cola.”
• Natalie - “Arnold Palmer and Cheese Puffs.”

Favorite Quote…

• Micaiah - “Don’t let the fear of striking out prevent you from playing the game.”
• Natalie - “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful” - Annette Funicello

When they are not twirling, they love to…

• Micaiah - “Writing and composing my own music! I also enjoy playing video games with my sister and dad.”
• Natalie - “I love to simply just relax and watch tv, but normally I have a ton of homework before I can do that!”

Something people might not know about them is…

• Micaiah - “I taught myself to play four instruments: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, and violin.”
• Natalie - “I have a golden retriever puppy that just turned one named Bagel.”

The best non twirling life skill they have learned from twirling is…

• Micaiah - “The ability to communicate more effectively with others.”
• Natalie - “Confidence! Especially in things like public speaking.”

Best advice from their coach…

• Micaiah - “Always have fun while twirling. When you're enjoying yourself, it shows on your face and makes your performance shine even brighter!”
• Natalie - “Truly enjoying and loving twirling is something that my coach always tells me, and before I go to compete, we always spot each other and do an air high five from across the gym. The little gesture always puts me in the right headspace so I can just go out and have fun!”

Best advice for future High School twirlers…

• Micaiah - “Have fun and showcase your incredible talents with those awesome tricks, even if you’re feeling nervous. Just go for it!”
• Natalie - “Cherish every high school event and memory because it will all go by very fast!”

Funniest memory as a twirler…

• Micaiah - “When I completely forgot a section of my solo and just marched off the floor. I ended up laughing it off with my coach and family.”
• Natalie - “This year when me and Micaiah were on the sidelines at our game against Reagan there were so many crickets diving and jumping towards us. Whenever a cricket would come close both of us would run away and even sometimes yell. It was scary but hilarious at the same time.”

Favorite thing about marching season…

• Micaiah - “Performing during halftime with all my friends while wearing my glittering twirling costume.”
• Natalie - “My favorite thing about marching season is getting to spend it with my best friends, having a great group makes even the long practices worthwhile.”

What are they going to miss the most once marching season is over…

• Micaiah - “I'll miss the long bus rides with my team and the chance to meet new people from other schools the most.”
• Natalie - “I will miss everything! Since this is my senior year, every major event is considered my “last” which makes a majority of things bittersweet.”

We want to thank Micaiah and Natalie for sharing their Game Day with us, as well as their joy and love for twirling. We want to wish them an amazing rest of their Senior Season! SK All Day!

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.