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Show Stacey Squires Receives 5 A Coach Drill Team of the Year Award .',:v.. v i V 1 by Angie Walker Stacey Squires received the 5 A Coach Drill Team of the Year Award at the state competition that was held on Friday, January 3 1 , at UVU. This is an award presented by the coaches association and is voted on by the other 5A coaches in the state. Stacey commented, "It was quite an honor to receive it. To know that others think this of you is pretty overwhelming and humbling." Stacey has been dancing since around the age of five. Her mom enrolled her in some dance classes through Pleasant Grove City. "I remember taking tap and ballet down where the Softball fields were, in a little building. Then I was able to enroll in Hot Shots and dance under Colleen Bills. She taught me a lot about competing, dancing, self esteem, and helped me to start my drive in being a dancer," stated Stacey. When Stacey started high school she actually didn't make the drill team. Lucky for her, the school hired a new coach over the summer and Stacey tried out again in the Fall and made it. "Being a Vikette was big part of my high school years. We actually placed 5th in state back in 1994, my senior year. It was forever ago," she reminisced. After high school Stacey received her Dance and Health Education degree at Utah State. She was a member of their modern dance company her senior year. Overall, Stacey has been coaching for 11 years. She started her teachingcoaching career at Tooele High School where she coached the drill team for six years. She then took three years off from coaching. When the head coach at Pleasant Grove resigned, Jess Christen, who was principal at that time, asked Stacey to accept the position. Stacey admitted she had to do some serious soul searching to. see if this would fit into her family life. Stacey is grateful to have a very supportive husband who was very good about working with her to pursue this part of her career. Stacey has been teaching at Pleasant Grove High School for eight years and coaching for five. Stacey summed up Pleasant Grove's drill season, "Our season was amazing this year. We had the talent and the choreography to take us to the top. We were placing very well in most of our routines at every competition, but at our second competition, we didn't even place in our military routine. We had the courage to re-do it right before Christmas break and it paid off." She added, "At region we swept all the categories and took 1 st place all around. We have not been region champs for about 11 years. It was a long time coming. At state we placed 5th in our Military, 3rd in Dance, 4th in Character and 4th overall. It was huge for us," she concluded. The drill team will be holding their year-end show on Thursday, March 20, in the A gym at Pleasant Grove High School. Tickets are $4 for students, $5 for adults, and $20 for a family pass. Drill team boot camp for girls 7th through 11th grade who are interested in trying out for drill team will be held March 25 through 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Pleasant Grove High School. The cost is $20 for each day or $45 if you attend all three. Tryouts for the drill team will be held April 15 through 1 7 and packets will be available at the PGJHS, Oak Canyon Junior High, PGHS, and the PGHS websites near the end of March. Stacey Squires has been teaching at Pleasant Grove High School for eight years and coaching for five. |