While the Cannon Falls Bomber Dance Team’s season may not have ended the way they had hoped, the hard work they put in despite the tough loss does not go unnoticed. There were many ups and downs for the team this season. After losing seven graduating seniors last season, they knew they had some big shoes to fill, and some of those were filled by three seventh graders dancing on the varsity kick floor. The older girls on the dance team had to learn to guide the team after losing some great leadership. Everyone figuring out their role on the team brought them so close to one another.
Taylor Rolstad is an assistant coach for the Bomber Dance Team. This past season was her first year with the Bombers. One of the team’s goals was to be competitive and continue to improve each day. Coach Rolstad explained how the dancers hoped to hear their names at competitions and to see all the effort they put in pay off on the score sheets.
The Bomber Dance Team was forced to push through the challenges of being a young team. It definitely isn’t the easiest obstacle to overcome, but the Bomber Dance Team made it evident that it is possible. They did this by putting a lot of focus on their routines and pushing past mental boundaries in practice. Coach Rolstad emphasized how the team’s practices directly affect how they perform in competitions. She states, “It’s not practice makes perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect.”
Coach Rolstad also noted that one of the greatest strengths of the dance team was their mindset. The winter sports season can get very long, especially with practices six out of the seven days of the week, which is nearly every day. Throughout this time, the girls always supported and leaned on each other, which built strong connections within the team.
One of the dancers for the Bomber Dance Team is Molly Beebe. Beebe is a junior and has been part of the team since seventh grade. When asked how she feels about the team chemistry this season, Beebe shared that the team became really close and had a very strong connection with each other. Strong bonds are so important to have in a team, which is what she believes is the greatest strength of the team. On the other hand, Beebe explains that the greatest weakness of the team was how young they were, with over half of the varsity team being rookies.
As the season was winding down, Beebe noted that her main focus was to just help her team reach her goals. Although the season did not end the way they wanted, she believes they finished strong, and she was proud of how they all performed.
Senior Alexa Shattuck recently ended her final season with the Bomber Dance Team. Shattuck has been on the team since seventh grade and on varsity since eighth grade. As she reflected on the season, she explained that staying motivated when things got tough was one of the biggest challenges she faced this year. “I overcame it by looking to my teammates and hyping them up, which also hyped me up,” Shattuck states as she spoke about her solution to one of her biggest challenges. Every team and every athlete has challenges; it is how they cope with them that separates the best from the rest. When asked what was going through her mind when she stepped on the section’s floor, Shattuck stated, “I was thinking that I have to give everything I have because it might be my last time dancing.”
This year’s seniors didn’t end their last season the way they had hoped, but despite that, they have so much to be proud of in their careers. The advice that Shattuck would give to younger dancers is this: “Do not take anything for granted because you never know when it will end.”
It is evident that the Bomber Dance Team has so much to be proud of from this past season, despite the rough ending. They overcame challenges, persevered through obstacles, and pushed one another daily at practice—even on the hardest days—just to continue improving. The team is excited to work in the off-season and continue to grow for next year.
