Springbrook Poms: Building Bonds Through Dance

When you walk into Poms practice at Springbrook High School, you see smiles, collaboration and fun. This past season, students in different grades from different backgrounds and different abilities built a genuine bond that stood out during practices, sports games and competitions. 

Nahal Sojdehei, science teacher, has been Poms coach for the past four years and aims to have a welcoming, supportive and inclusive culture. She incorporates any student who wants to join. “Everyone can be at their own level when they are part of this team,” said Coach Sojdehei.

Lillika, a freshman and newest member of the team, joined this year after attending a Poms clinic in middle school. When asked what makes Poms fun, Lillika said, “dance,” and then showed off some of her favorite moves. 

As a special education athlete, Lillika is welcomed by the team. What makes this team special is their ability to motivate each other. They also have the freedom to create their own routines. 

“We’ve made friendships,” said Dani, a senior. “It’s been fun having the liberty to choreograph dances and provide more input.” 

This season came with challenges, starting with 10 students and ending with five. In competitions, smaller teams face disadvantages because mistakes stand out more. “If we make a mistake, we just laugh it off,” said Tymeira, a sophomore. “We learn from it and aim to do better next time.”

As this season comes to a close, Coach Sojdehei reflected on how proud she is of the team, watching them learn new skills throughout the year and perform in competitions. “It’s completely different learning a skill in the dance room and then doing it at competition,” she said. “But they did a really good job.”