Team Feature: Oak Forest Varsity Poms

by Molly Owens, 8CA Staff Writer 

[Leading off 8 Count Audio’s new series spotlighting dance teams is Oak Forest Poms alum Molly Owens. A 2014 graduate and former captain of her team, Molly attends St. Ambrose University.]

The Oak Forest High School Varsity Poms team is filled with a fabulous group of hardworking, dedicated, beautiful young women. Their 2015-2016 team has one freshman, four sophomores, seven juniors, and six seniors. Out of the 18 girls, only two are new to the program. These girls are so dedicated to the team and they put in so much work that by the end of the season no matter what happens they know it was worth it. There is a local studio that some of the girls came from, so they had training prior to trying out for the OFHS competitive dance team. Head coach Jen Bajer highly recommends that the girls attend technique classes 1 to 2 nights a week. This helps all of the girls to improve their technique so that on actual scheduled practice days, they are up to par and ready to spend time working on other things such as sharpness or cleaning some kind of transition. Then, when the time comes to run the full routine full out with all that they have worked on, it is looking flawless and ready to compete.

Jen Bajer is not only an extraordinary human being, but coach too. She leads these girls and teaches them how to lead by example. They are a very humble team and they never cease to put 100% into what they do. Jen has danced since she can even remember. She is also an OFHS Poms alum and then continued her dance career at the University of Illinois on the performance dance team. She graduated and found her way back to Oak Forest. This is her 6^th year of coaching the Varsity team at Oak Forest High School.

The team specializes in mainly pom and kick. They stay true to the traditional style of dance, while displaying so much difficulty, technique, and uniqueness. They are always known to be one of the sharpest and cleanest teams and they never fail to exceed those expectations each and every year. The competition gets harder and harder every year. Technique is something that really makes a routine difficult and stand out to a judge. OFHS focuses on almost all technical skills throughout the season. The list includes a la seconde turns, pirouettes, doubles and triples, turns changing spots, jump split tricks, lifts, splits, leaps, firebird jumps, leg holds, leg hold turns, toe touches, discs, aerials, and calypsos. In fact there is a small list of required technique that all the girls must have in order to make the team. All splits, double and triple turns, discs, 5 fouettes, calypsos, and kicks are all included in the tryout.

Tryouts are held in early April, and the season starts in early June. Oak Forest starts by preparing a home routine to compete with at the end of the summer at UDA camp. The team also prepares another separate routine, strictly for performance for a community Thunderbolts baseball game! The Thunderbolts routine is usually kick since the girls perform on a baseball field, but it is so fun and shows the audience a little bit of what the girls will be bringing into the upcoming season.

Over the summer, so much work is done. The girls have to go back to the basics and work on their pom work and kicks. Head coach Jen Bajer has a secret weapon to get her girls ready for the year and the fierce competition up ahead. It really forces the girls’ arms and legs to gain strength and power so that improvement isn’t even an option: it happens naturally and it is vital to the rest of the season’s performances. Summer is also filled with drilling choreo and technique. This is when girls that aren’t very familiar with difficult technique learn and perfect the tricks so that by the time competition comes around, they execute it flawlessly as a whole.

Once UDA camp is under their belts and school comes around, the team starts focusing on football games and the oh-so-important homecoming routine. They always bring something super motivating and intense that ALWAYS wows the crowd. Then it’s time to get into competition mode. Serious time. They pick out a theme and the music, then choreograph their routines. The captains and coaches collaborate with each other writing and brainstorming choreography for their routine. They really make it a trial and error process between the few of them, drawing out formations and picking music beforehand. Choreography is not an easy task and for sure takes a ton of time! There are constant changes in formations and choreography, and the difficulty rises with technique as the dance transforms throughout the competition season.

A typical Oak Forest Poms practice begins on a Tuesday starting with a team pow wow. They make a game plan and start stretching. The girls always pick a new quote of the day. It is written on a dry erase board in the front of practice for the girls to see and be inspired by for the duration of the practice. This is such a motivator and inspires the girls to keep working no matter what the circumstances. They always have one goal in mind all practice long and they never lose sight of what they want so badly to achieve. After this, they work on strengthening their arms and legs with pom work and kicks. Of course Coach Jen Bajer has to have the ankle and arm weights attached to the girls so they improve every day. After this, they begin cleaning according to the agenda. They break down technical skills and formations so that they are beyond prepared when the state series rolls around.

These hard working girls that make up the Oak Forest Varsity Poms team have to get their motivation and inspiration from somewhere, am I right? Coach Jen Bajer is very motivating and a huge factor in why and how the girls succeed and do so well each year. They also get their motivation from each other. The drive each teammate inspires truly shows through during practices and performances throughout the season.

The girls admire the Geneva Dance Team for their humble attitudes and how focused they are. They also look to Fenton for their continuous energy and supportive attitudes. Glenbard North is also on the list of motivators because of their shared belief in the pom gods–haha I love it!

The OFHS captains and coaches shared with me that overall so far this season they have spent over 86 hours on choreography and they have made 13 versions of their mix. They love to stretch to certain music depending on their mood. They usually will pick a chill playlist, or something upbeat to get them in the zone for a full practice. The Biebs is always an option for them and for special occasions, holiday, or old school will help their muscles warm up before a long hard practice.