Three JV alternates will take the floor with the Fillies varsity dance team this competitive season. It has been longer than varsity coach Ellena Chaplin can remember since the Fillies have welcomed their JV counterparts, the Pintos, as a part of their competitive routine as alternates.

Sophomores Abigail Swain, Audrey Miller and Verica Karanakova are all members of the Pintos dance team and have been asked to step in as alternates for the varsity dance.

“I felt really flattered when Coach Dawn chose me to be one of the Fillie alternates. It shows that not only are you a good dancer, but that she sees you are willing to put in double the practice time during competitive season,” Miller said.  

The need to add the girls to the dance was not initially anticipated by the coaches or captains of the team.

“Originally we had the JV kids here learning the dance just in case anything happens. We weren’t expecting anything to happen to have to put them in, but we did end up having illnesses happen last minute,” Chaplin said.

Senior captain Bridget Barnebey has been a part of the team since her freshman year and has witnessed how the change impacted the teams atmosphere during the competitive season.

“It’s really rare to have JV alternates, it definitely has been a challenge to our team at some points but overcoming it has also helped us grow,” Barnebey said.

Similar to Barnebey, Chaplin understands that having to switch out varsity team members for their JV alternates isn’t as easy as it sounds. When a varsity member is no longer able to fill their spot, tweaks must be made in order to accomodate for their JV alternate and their skill level.

“The biggest challenge is having to fix our JV routines as well as our varsity routines. Even when we put a JV girl into a varsity member’s spot, our routines still have to change because we can’t put a JV kid in the same place–right in the front–they just aren’t mature enough to handle that,” Chaplin said.

Due to the unforeseen changes the team has undergone while kicking off the season coaches have seen the teams dynamic shift in a positive way.

“If a JV alternate needs a choreography review they [varsity members] will help them on the side while we work on another section,” Chaplin said.

The additional help doesn’t go unappreciated according to Miller.

“The Fillies and their coaches have been so helpful towards the “Fintos.” They understand that we have to know and practice double the amount of choreography compared to them so they really make sure to help me if I am confused on something,” Miller said.

No matter the challenges, Chaplin’s hopes remain high for the team.

“Hopefully we make it to state this year, we didn’t last year because we were on a rebuild year so this year we have a pretty solid group of kids so we are really, really excited,” Chaplin said.