“Go Gondos! Go Venice!” scream the girls performing at the late night football games on Fridays. The girls are on the cheer and dance teams at Venice. They’re probably the peppiest girls on campus and have the loudest school spirit.

The Venice High cheer and dance team captains are extremely dedicated and they want to turn their teams into strong competitive groups.

Cheer Captains Jaelyn Lytle and Maria Mora, and Dance Captain Angie Maximo, are proud of their jobs as captain. They shared some personal perks of being a captain.

“This role requires the utmost poise and maturity.” Said Lytle. “We’re here to provide some pointers to help our team and set a positive example for our team, I wanted to help build and lead a strong team because to me, cheerleading isn’t just about standing on the sidelines yelling cheers. It’s about how a group of people can support another group through their spirits. There aren’t any real perks of being captain but more responsibilities, which aren’t really perks, but I enjoy the closeness with the coaches.”

Mora, as co-captain of the team, wants to be a role model to her team members. “Being captain to me means being a good leader and taking charge when something needs to be done. I’ve been on the team for four years now, always looking up to my captains who helped me become responsible.”

Maximo, the captain of the dance team, has a passion for dance and wants to share it with her teammates and help them succeed as dancers. “Being captain makes me no different than the rest of my teammates. I wanted to be part of the dance team because dancing is something I enjoy doing and I knew I wanted to continue after middle school.”

Besides cheering and dancing at football games, the cheer team goes into competition season in the spring, which actually coincides with basketball season.

But cheer isn’t only about girls; some strong guys help with pyramids and other “in-the-air” stunts. Coach Samiah Anzin said that the boys on the team must have a strong mind, positive attitude and to be able to remember the choreography.

Cheer Coach Anzin has coached six years of high school cheer, six years of gymnastics and two years here at Venice. She was a classical ballet dancer until she was 16 years old.

In high school, she tried out for her school’s cheer team; she saw herself not very good but still made the team. As she pushed herself to be better, it taught her to be committed and to push herself to be her best. Through doing this, cheer became her driving force in life and she made life long friends.

Thanks to the great leadership of the captains and coach, the cheer and dance teams are on the path to a great school year.