As they broke from their circle, the girls rushed to set up the floor mats for practice. Lily trailed behind. The team ran through a few more stretches, and then Coach Smith announced that it was time for tumbling practice.
“Each practice, we’ll spend time working on a different set of skills you’ll need to bring to our dances,” Coach explained. “Dance team routines draw from lots of different styles, including jazz, ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, gymnastics, and more. So we have plenty to go over. Today we’ll work on gymnastics skills. Everyone take a spot on the mats. Give yourselves some room.”
Lily blew out a relieved breath. At least this will be familiar, she thought.
On the Lions, she had been one of the most advanced tumblers. Not only had she taken lots of gymnastics classes, but she and Amy had spent hours practicing in Lily’s old backyard.
Lily closed her eyes and swallowed a lump in her throat as she felt memories flooding back. Don’t think about that now.
After reviewing basic moves like rolls and handstands, Coach divided them up to work on handspring skills. By a show of hands, about half of the girls were comfortable with kickovers and limbers. Only Lily and Mia were skilled with both front and back handsprings, though.
“Lily and Mia, I’d like you to work on kickovers and limbers with those who want more practice. Make sure to use proper form,” Coach Smith reminded them. “The rest of you will stay here with me to work on handsprings.”
Mia nodded confidently and walked over to the far end of the mats. Several girls trailed obediently behind her. Lily followed slowly, at a distance.
“Okay, girls, first the backbend kickover. Start by getting into a bridge,” Mia directed.
The team captain lay flat on the mat with her arms above her head. Then she drew in her knees, bending them at a ninety-degree angle. Mia did the same with her arms and put her hands right next to her ears. Raising her hip off the ground and pushing through her legs, she formed a high arch with her body.
“Then you’re ready for the kickover,” Mia continued.
Pointing her right foot straight out, she easily kicked her leg up. The left leg followed over until she had come out of the bridge and landed on her feet in a lunge position.
Mia turned to the girls. “Be sure to keep your arms straight and up by your ears. But really, it’s totally easy.”
The dancers all spread out and began working on the skill. Some of them had strong kickovers already, but three were struggling to get their legs up. One fell flat on her back with a heavy thump. Mia heaved a disgusted sigh.
Lily stepped forward. “Don’t worry,” she said, helping the girl back to her feet. “This requires a lot of shoulder strength. When I was learning kickovers, I started with a lot of rocking backbends.”
“What’s that?” the girl asked.
“Okay, so when you’re in the bridge, rock back and forth. Push your shoulders so they go past your hands,” Lily instructed. “Once you’re comfortable, you can start to hop your feet up a little as you rock back. Don’t worry about getting your legs over yet. Just get your shoulders used to the motion.”
Lily bent backward into an arch and rocked back and forth several times. Then she started hopping her feet up about a foot off the mat.
“Oh, wow. That seems really helpful,” the girl said, looking relieved. She got into a bridge and started rocking. Soon all three girls who had been struggling were practicing the rocking backbend.
Mia gave Lily a long look. “You seem to have this under control,” she said. “We’ll be working on actual kickovers over here.” She flipped her hair and stalked off to another mat. The other girls followed behind her.
“Don’t worry,” one of the girls in Lily’s group piped up. “She’s always like that.”
Lily sighed. “Great.”
* * *
After another fifteen minutes of skill practice and a water break, the coach called for everyone to put the mats away and meet back in the middle of the gym floor.
“When I call your name, line up in two rows in front of me. Leave enough space so you can swing your arms without bumping into each other,” Coach instructed. “Emily . . . Hannah . . . Lily . . . Alison . . .”
Lily trotted into place next to the girl she figured must be Hannah. She nervously crossed her arms tight while the other girls lined up.
“Hi, Lily,” Hannah said with a smile. “Welcome to the team! Are you excited for your first performance with the Panthers at the pep rally? Two weeks isn’t a lot of time to get ready, but pep rallies are usually pretty low-pressure performances. It’s still totally fun, though.”
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” replied Lily distractedly. She didn’t feel like making small talk with anyone right now. Practice so far had felt weird and unfamiliar with the new team, plus Mia was being rude every chance she got.
All I want is to go home — my real home in Greenville, Lily thought. She turned back toward the front without saying another word to Hannah.
Hannah looked a little confused and like she was about to say something else. But then she just gave a small sigh and turned to talk to Emily instead. Lily stood silently with her arms crossed until all the girls had formed two loose rows, standing several feet apart.
“Great. We’ll be practicing staying in sync,” Coach told them. “I’m going to start the music, and I want one pair to jump on each beat, like a wave. Just listen to the rhythm for the first eight-count. We’ll start jumping on the second eight. Okay?”
The team nodded. Lily shook out her arms. She just needed to get through the rest of practice.
“Clap above your head as you land, and keep your arms up,” the coach continued. “We’ll start with Emily and Nora on this end and go down the line.”
The dancers were ready to go, so Coach Smith pushed a button on her laptop. Music began blaring from the speakers.
Lily bopped her head for the first eight beats. Emily and Nora jumped and clapped on the start of the second eight-count. Waiting for her turn, Lily sprang up on cue. Down the line, each pair jumped with the beat.
Coach paused the music. “Pretty good for a first try. Lily and Alison, you were a little late,” she noted.
Lily frowned. Late? But it was just a simple pairs jump!
“Let’s try it again,” Coach said. “This time, when we get to the end of the row, keep it going back the other way. Bring your arms down when the beat comes back to you. Here we go.”
The music played for several bars as the girls took turns jumping. Lily waited for the rhythm to take over like it usually did when she was dancing. But after being called out, she felt self-conscious in front of all the unfamiliar faces. Was she still late? Early?
Lily tried to block the distractions and just focus on the beat. But the more she focused on matching her body with the music, the worse it got. It almost felt as if her feet belonged to someone else.
I can’t do this! Lily thought helplessly as she landed behind the beat again. She saw the coach frown slightly. I don’t want to be a Wilmington Panther. I want my Greenville Lions!