The OCU pom/dance team will continue practicing through the rest of the fall 2020 semester.
The spirit squads were approved to resume practices following the announcement of a new campus-wide COVID-19 regulation instituted Sept. 30 limiting in-person events and activities to 10 participants. An email from the OCU Communications Office stated the regulation would affect athletic practices on a case-by-case basis and coaches would communicate updates to their teams.
Tasha Hinex, head pom coach, said OCU Athletics cleared the team to continue meeting for practices while following social distancing protocols due to the competition team’s already limited size of 12 people.
Hinex said the team is not currently prepping for competitions due to the OCU Athletics 2020-21 season delay. The delay has provided more socially distant practice opportunities than what would normally be possible, she said.
“Since we aren’t working on any competition material, we haven’t done anything that would require us to be super close for formations,” Hinex said. “We sometimes break off into smaller groups and work separately, or have a few people dancing while everyone else is spread out and watching.”
Hinex said spirit squads may find it easier to adapt to COVID-19 regulations than other team sports.
“We can do our sport with any number of people, and there is no contact required,” Hinex said. “With basketball, for example, you have to have a specific amount of people on the court, and you are always in contact with each other and the other team. We don’t come in contact with anyone else when we dance together, and we can have as many or as few people on the floor as we need.”
Kimberly Rodriguez, nursing freshman, said practicing while following COVID-19 protocol requires a lot of physical and mental endurance.
“We have to be in the same mindset all the time during practices,” Rodriguez said. “Not being able to do things the way we normally would, like formations, definitely changed some things with that, and we have to work a lot harder than we normally would.”
Rodriguez said the team has worked hard over the semester to develop friendships while remaining physically distant.
“Bonds are really important when you’re dancing,” Rodriguez said. “Since I’m a freshman, I didn’t experience what the team was like last year, but I can tell it is very different. They used to meet up a lot for breakfast and stuff, but we can’t do that anymore. From the people I’ve talked to, though, our bond as a team is even stronger now because we’re all in the same position and going through this together.”
Rodriguez said she believes the team is adapting well to the new format and season adjustments.
“It’s a different mindset,” Rodriguez said. “We’re more cautious. It’s a bit more mentally challenging because we have to alter so many things, and we’re waking up every morning not knowing what’s going to happen. The team’s championship was canceled last season, so we know that nothing is promised, and we learned not to take things for granted.”
To keep up with news surrounding sports and the pom/dance team, people can visit OCUSports.com.
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