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04/24/2023 08:51 AMIt is never about how a team kicks off a season, but rather how it concludes it and that the squad grows stronger as a group along the way and enjoys the ride. The East Haven Pom Pom squad followed that exact track up a steep yet satisfying hill to newfound heights for the program this winter.
The Yellowjackets, led by Head Coach Megan Butler, finished in the top 6 at the State Championships in the Pom Division before cracking the top 5 in the Jazz Division. More impressively, the Yellowjackets’ efforts in the Pom pool of competition yielded them a trip to regionals for the first time in Butler’s nine-year tenure.
Butler explained that while it was touch-and-go to start the campaign, her squad quickly settled in and kept things consistent and steady while bonding away from the hustle and bustle of competitions–discovering the true essence of squad sports in the process.
“We started off our season with a bit of a struggle when it came to our placing in competitions, and we also had girls that were sick or hurt at the beginning,” said Butler, whose team placed sixth in its first of six competitions this winter. “But after the first competition our scores and place improved every other competition, and we did, too. Nothing was going to stop this team from succeeding more as our season went out. Our team spent time together outside of pom, as they would do many types of team-bonding events, like making posters for the hockey team. They enjoyed bus rides to hockey games together. We even did a big team dinner at the end of our season at a restaurant after our last competition just to spend time together outside of practice and competing. By the end of our season, this team had such a strong bond that could not be broken. That is what being part of a team is all about.”
Within the competitive portion of the season, the Yellowjackets certainly earned many laurels to look back upon with a great deal of pride. Yet the light-hearted moments with the team’s peripheral supporters are what really stood out in Butler’s and the girls’ minds.
“Our biggest goal for our season was to place better than we have the past few years, and we were able to do that this past year with placing in the top 6 in the state for the Pom Division and top 5 in the Jazz Division,” said Butler. “Our major accomplishment for this past year was us going to regionals for the first time in the Pom Division since I started coaching. There is nothing the girls love more than the memory of me competing in the coaches’ dance off at one of our competitions and dressing in a crazy school spirit outfit. Another memory was our boys’ hockey team taking a bus to one of our competitions to support us. We also had a dads’ dance off at one of our other competitions that the girls loved having [East Haven boys’ ice hockey co-op team Assistant Coach] Billy Demetriades compete in. Our competitions aren’t all about competing, it’s also about having fun and coming together as a team. I love making memories with them and being able to show them that Pom should also be fun, not just competitive.”
Additionally historic for the Yellowjackets was that East Haven had two girls make the All-State Team for the first time ever with a tandem of juniors and first-year captains in Yazia Luna and Giana Carr. Even with the now-present benefit of hindsight, Butler knew it was a no-doubter that the duo would be given this distinguished achievement.
“I knew that they would be given this award just by the way they both created their videos and danced. This is only the second year that the CIAC had an All-State Team in dance, and they were the perfect duo to receive this accomplishment for the first time in history,” said Butler. “Both girls will get to have their names on a banner that will be hung in the East Haven High School gym. This has given them determination to be able to go out for All-State again this coming year. They will both be starting another season as senior captains. They have worked so hard to become successful and show others how hard dance really is. I look forward to having both girls come back next year and bring our team even more success than they have already shown.”
East Haven sported two seniors this past year, which were Alexis Serafin and Bella Incerto. Serafin was a two-year captain and a four-year pom pom veteran, and Incerto was a two-season mainstay with the squad. The common threads with both individuals were solo progression and beaming positivity towards the team.
“As Alexis started her second year as a captain, I saw so much strength and improvement in her as a person and as a dancer. No matter what I asked of Alexis, she always tried and did everything I had asked her to do with all the respect that a coach could ask for,” said Butler. “Bella had one of the greatest personalities and was able to always bring good spirits to our team, even during hard times. As Bella started her second year on the team, her confidence and dancing improved so much; she was able and willing to try new things without hesitation. Both girls were always respectful and encouraging to the other girls on the team. Both seniors will be a huge loss to our team, but they both made an impact on the rest of the team. I couldn’t have asked for a better team than what I had this year.”
With success as a squad comes increased notoriety and recognition not just confined to campus, but reaching around the state. Butler aims to keep that train of momentum rolling and will encourage the girls to take risks and venture outside of their comfort zones to drive the group towards greater gains.
“We have two seniors that we are losing, but the rest will be returning next year, which will help us start off our season strong,” said Butler. “With two girls going All-State, we are hoping that this will open more drive to become a Pom Pom girl. We are hoping to gain more talented dancers to help our team grow and be able to continue to create success. Pom Pom is finally starting to get its name out there as we have started accomplishing much success, which will help us in recruiting more dancers. My hope is to bring this team to more success. I am hoping to have all the girls on the team open to trying new and harder things to help us with scoring for the next competition season.”