Speaking
of Sports 

by
Lance J. Lilla

 
Novi Varsity Pom: Lessons learned  improving the sport

February 13, 2012

Winning the state title two years in a row is no easy task. Though, for the talented girls on the Novi Wildcats Varsity Pom team, it looked effortless. Back to back, the championship was theirs, which caused many other teams to truly reevaluate themselves and make some drastic modifications.

This is good because it is a common sign of what great teams do. Great teams improve their sport. They make it more competitive and increase the level of difficulty. This is what great teams have always done and will always continue to do. The Novi Varsity Pom squad proved to all of that they were great by doing this.

Though, by motivating their competition, things definitely didn't get easier on the 'Cats. Knowing that their opponents were excelling, the 'Cats understood they had some improvements to make of their own. In preparation for success, the 'Cats worked really hard this season and practiced the routine a mind-blowing total of "318 times in shorter than a month," according to senior pommer, Mary Favorite.

Clearly the work ethic of these young women is not an issue.

Unfortunately, the hard work was not enough through the eyes of the judges at Sunday's state championship competition which was held at Eastern Michigan University. This was made known when the agonizing anticipation of who would leave EMU's stadium with the State Championship title came to an end. After the long and dragged out wait, The Novi Wildcats were declared 2nd place finishers, following the Garden City Cougars who earned the 2012 first place title in the Varsity Division One category.

After some time was given to cope with the loss, I spoke with senior pommer, and a very close personal friend of mine, Mary Favorite. Since this meant that Pom was finally over for her, I focused less on the competition and more so on the overall experience of Pom.

Favorite began to explain how "pomming has taught me [her] a lot about hard work, dedication, and how to motivate not only myself, but also other people."

Favorite furthered her explanation and went on to say how through pom, she has "learned about the values of patience and the importance of never giving up."

No, the 'Cats may not have won the state title for what would have been their third year in a row, but the lessons learned throughout the pomming careers of these young women clearly outshines any trophy or plaque they would have been awarded.

(c) 2012 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org