Contest Calendar Series - East TX Valentine's Twirling Festival 2019

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Can you believe it is already halfway through January and we are only days from the first Texas NBTA contest in 2019? Who all is going to Twirl in the Woods? Make sure to tag us in your photos and we will share them through the day!

While this month has gotten away from us pretty quickly, we still wanted to give a last minute mention to a great contest that is coming up in only a few weeks.

Today our Contest Calendar Series is the 2019 East Texas Valentine's Twirling Festival Majorette Showcase & Twirl Day Clinic!

*DEADLINE TODAY* Please note that the deadline for this competition is TODAY, Wednesday, January 16, 2019, so get your entry in the mail ASAP. Click here to download the entry form. For more information, please contact the contest director, Janice Jackson Seamands at jjtwrldnc@aol.com or (214) 697-5310.

If you would like to attend this contest but cannot get your entry in the mail today, please email the Contest Director! She might be able to work with you to get your twirler into the contest anyway!

Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who: Contest Director Janice Jackson Seamands
What: 2019 East Texas Valentine's Twirling Festival & Twirl Day Clinic
When: Saturday, February 16th, 2019. Doors open at 7:30 am. Contest begins at 8:30 am.
Where: Sabine High School, 5324 FM 1252 West, Gladewater, TX 75647
Why: 2019 is a special year for this contest! This year the contest has moved from North Dallas to a great facility with two gyms in Gladewater, TX, making it the only "East Texas" NBTA contest. With a great new location and being in a new part of the State, the 2019 Valentine's Twirling Festival will bring a ton of awesome new twirlers together.

CONTEST HASHTAG: #valentinestwirlfest2019. For this event, we strongly encourage our Texas Twirlers to utilize the hashtag #valentinestwirlfest2019 when posting photos of this competition on social media.

Highlighted Event: An additional bonus to this contest is the Twirl Day Clinic on Sunday, February 17th from Noon to 4:00 pm. Cost of the Clinic is only $75, and for that you get great instruction from some fantastic Twirling Coaches! All four of the wonderful instructors have held National titles, twirled for their respective Universities, and are current NBTA Judges and Coaches, bringing a huge wealth of knowledge to this clinic. You will not want to miss it!

*Michele Sweet Pangrac, Former Collegiate World Champion

*Nicole Jensen, Former College Miss Majorette of America 

*Caroline Carothers, 2016 Miss Texas & Baylor Golden Girl

*Whitney King Coons, Former University of TX Feature Twirler

Unique Feature: This contest will include a special Majorette Showcase. This is an event where field twirlers can perform their football. UIL style, or Try-Out Routines and receive feedback, critique, and an award from the NBTA Certified Judges. There will be an Overall Outstanding Performance award given to the bets Majorette Line and Best Individual Performer in the Showcase.

Want to attend this event? Please download the 2019 East Texas Valentine's Twirling Festival Entry Form, or contact the director, Janice Jackson Seamands, at jjtwrldnc@aol.com.

Also, don't forget to check out www.texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in the State of Texas. There are many great contests heading our way, and their deadlines are around the corner!

We hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Contest Calendar Series. 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? Please contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it. 

3...2...1... Happy 2019! 2018 Year End Countdown

Happy 2019 Texas Twirl Fans!

The new year always brings memories of the year that has past, and so much hope for the year to come.

Texas Twirling had many amazing moments in 2018... the CMMOA title coming home to Baylor, 5 Texas Twirlers winning the modeling in their National Pageant, 5 baton twirlers competing in Miss Texas, etc. With the fantastic talent that is developing in this State, we cannot wait to see what 2019 brings for #TeamTexas!

For this blog, we have continued to live out our mission to help keep our sport and our community going strong by bringing us together. It just makes every moment of time spent on these posts worth it when we go to contests and see twirlers from all over Texas that may not have known who the others were taking pictures together and enjoying the friendships that come with twirling. #TeamTexas is amazing!

To celebrate, here is our annual Goodbye 2018 post to take a look back at the past year of this blog's existence and recognize those that have helped contribute to our mission...

*Total Number of Blog Page Views Since January 1st - 48,702
*First Blog Post of 2018 - Contest Calendar Series: Dallas Twirling Festival Update
*Top Friday Night Lights Feature Post - Lubbock Coronado High School, Kirby Stanek
*Top Collegiate Twirler Spotlight Post -Vanderbilt University, Haylee Castagna
*Highest Viewed #TeamTexas AYOP 2018 Post - Vick's Chicks
*Highest Number of Likes on Instagram - #TwirlerTuesday post of the Texas Tech Twirlers
*Highest Number of Likes on Facebook - Monahans HS Twirlers Practicing for football season
*Highest Number of Shares on Facebook -Monahans HS Twirlers Practicing for football season 
*Highest Viewed Miss Texas 2018 - Meet the Twirlers: Miss Fort Worth, Erica Kuntz
*Highest Viewed Contest Calendar Series - 2018 Southwest Regional Championship

Top 10 Posts By Page View Numbers:
         #1: 2,961 page views - 2018 Fall Twirler Announcement - Abilene Christian University
         #2: 2,283 page views - Friday Night Lights Feature - Lubbock Coronado High School
         #3: 2,035 page views - Miss Texas 2018 Meet the Twirlers - Miss Fort Worth
         #4: 1,734 page views - Friday Night Lights Feature - Founders Classical Academy
         #5: 1,627 page views - Collegiate Twirler Spotlight - Vanderbilt University
         #6: 1,477 page views - 2018 Fall Twirler Announcement - Stephen F Austin University
         #7: 1,401 page views - Friday Night Lights Feature - Winston Churchill Hight School
         #8: 1,360 page views - Miss Texas 2018 Meet the Twirlers - Miss San Antonio
         #9: 1,217 page views - 2018 Texas Collegiate Twirler Audition Guide
         #10: 1,093 page views - Friday Night Lights Feature - Shiner High School

Congrats to all of those who made it into the end of year wrap up and Top 10 list, and a big THANK YOU to everyone who has read, liked, shared, or contributed to any of our posts this year.

While we do have our Contest Calendar Series, Contest Wrap-Up Series, Collegiate Twirler Audition Guide and Announcements, plus some new post series in progress, we are always looking for fun, new angles and information to share. Have an idea for an upcoming post or some exciting news to share with the community? Email texastwirlcontact@gmail.com.

Until the next post, we leave you with our wishes that you have a fantastic new year...

Collegiate Twirler Spotlight - University of the Incarnate Word

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

For our final post of the year, we wanted to bring you a special interview with a young lady that has been featured many times in this blog, but as she continues to break down barriers and serves as an amazing role model for younger twirlers and pageant hopefuls, we just had to learn more.

Our Collegiate Twirler Spotlight is the University of Incarnate Word Feature Twirler, Ashley Sneed!

On top of being the University of Incarnate Word Feature Twirler, Ashley has spent the last year serving as Miss San Antonio. Balancing these roles has been challenging, but Ashley has done an amazing job representing UIW and her hometown in the Miss America Organization.

She really enjoys being a part of the UIW community. Her favorite twirling moments are when she has a no drop on the field in front of the Cardinal fans. Ashley also appreciates the atmosphere on game days. In her opinion, the best school tradition though is pregame because, “something unusual always happens during pregame!” In fact, once during pregame she got hit by the giant flag! “It was very painful!” The band also has its own traditions. A special one of note is when they flip their caps backward when they win a game “because UIW is the Southland Conference Champs!”

Now that we know a little more about Ashley and her experiences at UIW, lets learn more about her twirling career and what got her to where she is now!

Ashley Sneed
Competition Level: Advanced

Ashley is a junior at UIW and is majoring in Fashion Merchandising with a double minor in Business Administration and Marketing. She is from San Antonio, TX, where she has twirled for the last fifteen years as a member of the Texas Gems and is coached by Tori Mays. The competition title she is the most proud of is when she won the Advanced Miss Majorette of the Virgin Islands. Her favorite competition trick is continuous back neck rolls with a double roll on the floor, and her favorite field trick is a toss cartwheel catch in fujimi (under the leg).







Fun Facts!

Favorite Color – “I always consider glitter a color, so anything sparkly is my favorite!”

Favorite Movie – “I do not necessarily have a favorite movie, but anything that makes me laugh will for sure become a favorite of mine”

Favorite Music – “I always love to jam out to hip hop before a performance, but of course my favorite artist is Beyoncé! I always get to channel her out on the floor during competition”.

Favorite Quote – “There is a power in people who dream big and who try hard” – Harold Klemp

When she is not twirling she loves to... “Hang out with my friends, stay involved with my community through community service, promote my non-profit organization, and shop”.

Something people might not know about her is… “I am the first African American Feature Twirler at a Texas NCAA Division I University”.

Twirler she has been most inspired by: Former UCLA Twirler and World Team Member, ReJoyce Green.

What organizations is she involved with in school... At UIW, she is a member of the Black Student Alliance (BSA) and the African Student Organization (ASO).

After college Ashley hopes to work for Ted Baker in London as a buyer and eventually open her own custom costume company. In order to make this happen, she likes to lean on her favorite piece of advice from her coach, “Trust in yourself and your ability”.

Ashley has also learned a lot from baton twirling that she hopes to carry in to her future. She say the number one life lesson she has gained from baton twirling is that “You never lose, you learn!”
When asked what suggestions she would pass on to any future collegiate twirlers, she said she would tell them to “Trust in the process and have FUN!”

We want to thank Ashley for taking the time to talk to us, and we can't wait to see the amazing things this twirler does in the next few years. Go Cardinals!

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. 

Contest Calendar Series - Twirl in the Woods 2019

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

After our short break for the holidays, the blog is back! With only 4 more days left in 2018, we wanted to squeeze in a couple more posts to get everyone psyched for what 2019 has in store.

Today we have a Contest Calendar Series post about the upcoming 2019 Twirl in the Woods!

DEADLINE THURSDAY: Please note that the deadline for this competition is Thursday, January 3rd, 2018. Your entry must be postmarked by this day. Click here to download the entry form. For more info, contact the Contest Directors at pcmickey2008@gmail.com. You can also call 281-844-8486 or 281-844-1143.

*Early Bird Discount* If you can get your entry in the mail by 5 pm on Friday, December 28th, you can take 50% off your Facilities Surcharge Fee (That makes the fee only $7.50 instead of $15.00).

*Pay Online with PayPal* If you would like to pay online you can visit http://www.mickeysmajorettes.com/titw2019 and click on the PayPal TITW Entry Fees button.


Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who: Contest Directors Patti Mickey & Kayli Mickey-McIntosh
What: 2019 Twirl in the Woods Competition
When: Saturday, January 19, 2019. Doors open at 7 am. Contest begins at 8 am
Where: College Park High School - 3701 College Park Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77384

Why: Since this is the first NBTA contest in Texas for 2019, it is often one of the biggest of the season outside of the State and Regional competitions. Many coaches consider this contest to be the most reflective of what level of competition twirlers will face at the Southwest Regional Championship held in March. Many teams debut their routines here, and most of the twirling groups in the State will have representation. On top of that, the awards are extremely nice (tiaras, giant pageant trophies, Disney plushies, etc), and the contest runs very smooth for being as large as it is. It is definitely a 'must attend' to start off the new year!

CONTEST HASHTAG: #twirlinthewoods2019
For this event, we strongly encourage our Texas twirlers to utilize the hashtag #twirlinthewoods2019 when posting photos of this competition on social media. Please also tag the Twirling is Catching FB page or Instagram account (@twirlingiscatchingtx) and we might share your picture on social media!

Unique Feature: When at Twirl in the Woods, you can always expect a well run contest with nice awards, and lots of facility space for competition and practice across the three gyms. This year there will also be three out of state judges joining the All Star judging staff.

Another unique Feature at Twirl in the Woods is always the award ceremony. You have to love any award ceremony that has placement blocks, a photographer, and utilizes amazing senior twirlers from around the State to help pass out the awards.

Highlighted Event: A highlighted event for this competition is the team portion of the day. As mentioned above, many teams premier their routines at Twirl in the Woods, which means team routines you have never seen before will all hit the floor at the same time. This is where we get to see the starting point behind all those hours of teamwork and new choreography. It is so exciting to see where the teams all begin each season and compare it to how far they go by the time we reach State in June.

Contest Hotel Block: There is a hotel block reserved for the contest at the Courtyard Houston North/Shenandoah, but you must reserve your room by Friday, December 28th! The hotel is located at 19255 David Memorial Drive, Shenandoah, TX, 77385. The reservation can be made by calling 1-800-321-2211 with group code MMJ and hotel code IAHCS or you can visit the Booking Website.


Want to attend this event? Please click here for the registration form, visit the Twirl in the Woods 2019 Website, or contact the Contest Directors at pcmickey2008@gmail.com for more details.

Also, don't forget to check out texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in and around the State of Texas. There are many great contests heading our way, and you don't want to miss out!

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? Please contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it. 

Collegiate Twirler Spotlight - Louisiana Tech University

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

We are in the final week of November. So much is going on! Competition season is underway with one competition down and another next week, plus Football Play-Offs are off and running. Who will be performing in Dallas next month? We can’t wait to see some twirlers on that Jumbotron!

This week is also the final week of our Fall Interviews. We will be wrapping things up with two Collegiate Twirler Spotlights, one today and one later this week, to meet two more wonderful Texas Twirlers that have spent the last several months representing their Universities with pride.

Today, we are visiting the State to the east of us to meet a Texas girl that chose to go out of the state for her collegiate experience, and is loving it! Our Collegiate Twirler Spotlight is with the new Louisiana Tech University Feature Twirler, Macy Allen!

Macy had a different introduction to twirling than most twirlers, as she only started twirling three years ago. With the help of her coaches she quickly learned the skills needed to be a High School twirler, and was so excited to be named the first Louisiana Tech University Feature Twirler in over 10 years, a position that she gets to hold until she graduates. This has meant a lot to her and she wants to reach the next generation through her performances. “I hope to inspire other high school twirlers to twirl in college as well!”

When it came time to choose a college, Macy made the tough decision to go out of Texas. “I wanted to go to a school that was open to having twirlers and also had an exceptional pre-med program,” a combination she found at Louisiana Tech. She would advise any twirler making their decision on what college to attend to think about the big picture. “The College you choose will likely be your home for the next four years, so make sure that you love the school as much as you love to twirl during halftime!”

Being away from family is never easy, but Macy has a great support system that has made sure she feels the love all the way in Louisiana. “Being four hours away from my family has been the hardest part about leaving my home state, but fortunately I have a very supportive family that comes to all of the football games.”

Now that we have learned a little about what brought Macy to Louisiana Tech, let’s learn a little more about Macy and her twirling experiences!

Macy Allen
Competition Level: Beginner
Macy is a Freshman Biology Pre-Med Major that is also pursuing a Chemistry minor. She is from Rockwall, TX, where she twirled for the last three years as a member of the Texas Touch of Class coached by Shirley Payne and Sheila Payne Rigelsky. The competition titles she is the most proud of was when she won the 2018 Beginner Senior Solo & X-Strut events. Her favorite competition trick is a one spin illusion and her favorite field trick is a toss, grand jete, front roll, and catch in the splits. At school she is a member of the LA Tech Honors program and after college hopes to attend medical school as well as do some traveling.  



Fun Facts!
Favorite Music – Christmas Music!
Favorite Color – Pink
Favorite TV Series – Grey’s Anatomy

Favorite Quote – “You will never regrets doing the things you love!”

Twirler she has been most inspired by – Karissa Wimberley

When she is not twirling she loves to… “Play the piano”.

Something you might not know about her is… “I know 58 digits of pi”.

As a member of the Louisiana Tech Marching Band, Macy enjoys being a part of the school traditions. Her favorite tradition is one she won’t experience for a few years. “After graduation we get a brick put on the sidewalk of campus with our graduation date, so that we will always be part of Tech.” How cool is that?

Macy also really enjoys the game day experience that comes with the Louisiana Tech community. She considers the best band tradition to be the “Walk of Pride” before every home game, and names her first time performing at the Joe Aillet stadium as her favorite moment ever as a baton twirler!

Being a freshman, this is Macy’s first season with the Louisiana Tech Band, and it has been a great learning experience. She is very thankful for the advice and training she received from her coaches, but says the most important tip was “take off your jacket and get use to the weather before halftime”. Very valid! Practicing like you perform is always great advice.

Through baton twirling, Macy has gained many skills, but says she is most thankful for the communication abilities she has learned through baton twirling. “Since I started twirling at Tech, there are a bunch of people that want to talk to me and hear about my twirling experiences”. She appreciates that she can hold up her end of these conversations and represent her university and sport with poise and grace.

The poise and grace also helped her with her with a funny moment she experienced this season. “A player from the other team asked to take a picture with me!” Well of course they did Macy! Who wouldn’t want a picture with such a talented young lady!

Finally we asked Macy what suggestion she has for other twirlers that may one day be a Collegiate Feature… “Have someone record you while you’re on the field. That way you can see what need to be added to your routine and what looks the best on you!”

We want to send a huge congrats to Macy on an amazing first season with the Bulldogs, and say thank you for being one of our Collegiate Twirler Spotlight’s this season. We wish her luck with future seasons and we can’t wait to follow her as she continues to represent LA Tech!

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. 

Contest Calendar Series: 2018 ATX Holiday Twirl Fest

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Now that we are in to November, the hints of the holidays are starting to show up everywhere. Music, lights, shopping.. and even twirling contests! It is time to get ready to celebrate the holidays in the Austin, TX area with all your favorite twirling friends.

Today our Contest Calendar Series is about the 2018 ATX Holiday Twirl Fest!

*ONLINE REGISTRATION DEADLINE FRIDAY* Please note that the mail in registration deadline for this contest has already past, but they are accepting online registrations until midnight on Friday, November 16th. To register online, just visit http://www.twirlatx.com/atx-twirl-fest.html, fill out the form, then pay online via PayPal, or you can send the amount via Venmo to @twirlatx.

Note from the Directors: "If anyone is having trouble with the online registration, please let us know and we can make other arrangements to send us a picture of the paper copy. We know some people aren't as inclined to use online registrations, and we don't want anyone to miss out on the contest because of that, so as long as they communicate with us before Friday, we can make it happen!"

For more information, please contact the contest directors at atxtwirlfest@gmail.com. 

PLAYOFF HOLDS - If your High Schooler wants to enter but may have a football play-offs conflict, please have them register online, but do not pay via PayPal! After registering online, hit submit, but close the pay screen when it opens. Then email atxtwirlfest@gmail.com requesting a Playoff Hold to make arrangements for payment. Please make sure to not pay via PayPal if you need a hold! They will not give PayPal refunds.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Who - Hosted by the Hutto HS Winterguard & Directed by Ashley Wood and Whitney Coons
What - 2018 ATX Holiday Twirl Fest
When - Saturday, December 1st, 2018. Doors open at 7:45 am. Contest begins at 8:15 am.
Where - Hutto High School, 101 Chris Kelley Blvd, Hutto, TX 78634 (North East of Austin, TX)

Why - The ATX Holiday Twirl Fest is a fun holiday themed contest. Holiday music is played for modeling and solo, the decorations and awards are holiday themed (custom snowflake ornament medals, snowflake trophies, etc), compete for Miss Holiday Model or the Miss Twirling Snowflake title, or catch a photo op with the Candy Cane archway! Great way to get into the holiday spirit with all of your twirling friends.

CONTEST HASHTAG! #atxtwirlfest2018
For this event we strongly encourage our Texas Twirlers to utilize the hashtag #atxtwirlfest2018 when posting photos of the competition weekend on social media. Use the hashtag and your photo could end up on this blog or the contest site! Don't forget to tag @twirlingiscatchingtx on Facebook or Instagram and we may share your pic on one of our pages.

Highlighted Event - Originally created to honor contest director, Ashley Wood's, mother, who fought and defeated Breast Cancer in 2015, and to celebrate all the women in our twirling community that have overcome so much, there is a special Best Costume event. The "Laura Craft Honorary Best Costume" competition puts all ages against each other to judge who has the "best costume". The entry fee for this event ($10) is a direct donation to Twirling to Fight Cancer. TTFC Founder, John Baton Mitchell, will once again be judging at the contest, and will be there to accept the donation check. Last year this event raised $450.00 for TTFC... Can they pull off a bigger donation this year?

Congrats to Khloe Page, the recipient of the 2017 Best Costume Award

Interested in attending this event? Visit http://www.twirlatx.com/atx-twirl-fest.html to find the online registration link. Have any questions? Contact atxtwirlfest@gmail.com or call Ashley at 512-848-7426. We hope to see everyone in December!

Also, don't forget to check out www.texastwirl.com/contests.html for information and entry forms for many upcoming contests in and around the State of Texas. There are so many great contests heading our way, and we don't want anyone to miss out!

We hope you have this edition of the Contest Calendar Series. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some info we could use to help highlight our sport? Please contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.

Collegiate Twirler Spotlight - Texas Tech University

Hello Texas Twirl Fans!

Can you believe it is November? It feels like 2018, especially this fall, has flown by. We hope everyone enjoyed the Collegiate Twirler Weekend vidoes yesterday from the Baylor, Tarleton, UT, and SMU games. So much fun to see all our Collegiate Twirlers in action on Game Day!

To wrap up Collegiate Twirler Weekend, we have a new interview for you. This week our Collegiate Twirler Spotlight is the new Texas Tech University Feature Twirler, Abigail Morgan!

When it came time to look at colleges, Abigail (Abby) Morgan knew she wanted to go to a school with a rich twirling tradition, but that she also needed to find an opportunity to get a great education. She tells us, "TTU has several programs that allow a select group of students to have automatic admission to their medical school - which was my original plan until a few months ago. I am hoping a similar opportunity is presented when TTU opens their own dental school in 2021. The honors college at Tech also provides many opportunities and a lot of support to their students, which made TTU a great fit for me!"

In order to audition for the Texas Tech Feature Twirler position, Abby had to send in a video and application, and then attend a live audition. Once she was selected, she participated in summer band and assisting in creating her new routines. "I always get very excited about getting to be creative with every new show the Goin’ Band performs".

As a freshman just beginning in a well known feature position, there had to be a lot of work involved in getting on the field. We asked Abby what she has been doing to keep herself game day ready... "I have practiced a lot! I have found that when it comes to game days, my muscle memory already kicks in, just from a few weeks of practice, and all of my nerves and fears are subdued. To be prepared on game days, I have been finding inspiration from other twirlers and, per Bethany Tolley’s request, finding more of my inner sass for performances!"

With a couple months of leading the Band under her belt, we asked what she has enjoyed the most. Abby told us that entering the field for Game Day is the biggest rush she has ever had as a twirler. "At each football game, ZIT (our percussion section) and I are the first ones on the field for pregame. The adrenaline of being one of the only people on the field makes it my favorite twirling moment each game day!"

Now that we have learned a little more about what brought Abby to Tech, and what she loves the most about her choice, let's learn a little more about her!

Abigail Morgan
Competition Level: Advanced
Abby is a Freshman Biochemistry Major on the Pre-Dental track. She is from Gonzales, Texas, and has been twirling for 8 years. She is a member of the Alamo City Strutters coached by Pat Montgomery, and is now getting additional instruction by Bethany Tolley, the Tech Twirling Coach. In competition she is the most proud of winning the 2018 Miss Majorette of Texas title. Her favorite competition trick is anything rolls, and her favorite field tricks are back necks and floor rolls.










Fun Facts!
Favorite Color - Red... "I know it’s cliché for someone attending Texas Tech but it is a power color!"
Favorite Movie - Avatar
Favorite Food - Enchiladas
Favorite Quote - "Dreams don't work unless you do!"

Twirler she has been most inspired by... "Former Gonzales High School Feature Twirler, Destiny Pierpont, is who inspired me to start twirling."

When she is not twirling she loves to... "Spend time with friends and relax".

Something people may not know about her is... "I am an only child".

Best advice from her coach... "Relax and breathe! You know what your doing. Now go do it!"

As a member of the Goin' Band from Raiderland, Abby gets to take part in many of the school and band traditions. So far, her favorite school tradition is throwing tortillas. "At kickoff, the student section chunks tortillas onto the field, which sometimes get dangerously close to hitting the twirlers!" Ay! You image trying not to get hit by a baton, but not a tortilla!

The thing she is most impressed with regarding the band program is how unified they are. "My favorite band tradition is that when our band travels, everyone goes. We fill eight charter buses, one van, and one 18 wheeler!" Wow! That is quite the caravan, but shows awesome school spirit.

Abby has also really enjoyed getting to be a part of the Texas Tech Twirlers. As the Feature Twirler, for many of her performances she is in the spotlight, but off the field she gets to spend time with the Texas Tech Twirling Line. These awesome ladies have made her feel at home, and she loves the fun times they have, especially during the games. "In the stands, the twirlers have little dances that go with the band’s stand tunes but when we feel like switching it up, we have a great time ad libbing! You never know what crazy dance moves are going to happen!"

After College Abby hopes to "attend dental school followed by a three year periodontal residency program to become a periodontist". She knows that the life skills she has earned from baton twirling will help her get there. We asked her what she has learned from baton twirling that she feels will benefit her the most in trying to reach her goals... "Definitely time management skills!! From having to balance school work, practice (competition and field), various extracurricular activities, and free time (because I fully believe that is necessary for sanity!) since the sixth grade, I have gotten pretty good at making time for everything!"

To wrap up the interview, we wanted to know what advice Abby would give to an up and coming feature twirler trying to decide where to go for college. She said, "Be open minded when considering colleges. You never know what amazing opportunity is awaiting you at a college you may have never contemplated."

We want to thank Abby for being this week's Collegiate Twirler Spotlight. We love seeing her on the Tech field and we look forward to many more awesome things from this great Twirler. Wreck Em!

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.