Mepham Kickline Caps Off Stellar Season at Nationals

Many teams at Mepham, let alone in the state of New York, rarely get the opportunity to travel out of the state and compete against some of the country’s best.

The Mepham Pirettes kickline team got the unique opportunity to do just that as the girls competed in the National Championships at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida, from March 11-13.

Third year co-head coaches Jackie Geller and Kerry Dennis said the experience alone was more than enough, but the finish made it even better.

“It was an incredible experience to go with them and to say I was proud of them is an understatement,” Dennis said. “They represented Mepham and Bellmore-Merrick and were the only team from Nassau County there. It gave them a chance to showcase their talents and what kind of school Mepham really is.”

With more than 50 schools at the event, Mepham competed and dominated in three different competitions at Nationals against the best the nation had to offer. They finished in fourth in the Jazz routine, fifth in Pom routine and finished with a sixth-place performance in the Kick routine.

Two of the three captains, Samantha Zuckerman and Nicole Goedel, are seniors who took part in their fourth varsity kickline season.

“The experience was amazing overall. We saw teams with a variation of styles, techniques and different ways of representing themselves,” Zuckerman said. “This year, for our team, the whole family aspect really took place.”

The chance for Goedel to compete at nationals with her teammates in her final year was a tremendous accomplishment, but at the same time, it marked the site of their last competition together.

“I was happy that I got to do this in my senior year and it was a great way to wrap up the season with everyone. It was our last competition, so it was emotional, but I am excited to move on to other things,” Goedel said. “I was also glad I got to be captain my senior year because I learned a lot on how to work with different people in a different way.”

The weekend before the girls traveled to Orlando, they participated in the third and final segment of the Scholastic competition against other Long Island programs. Mepham was named the Champion of Champions in both the Pom and Lyrical categories.

“We went from having competition one week to another 'hell week,' which means practice every day, then straight to leaving for nationals,” Zuckerman said. “The fact that we were all together for two weeks straight, there were no words for the experience.”

The coaches have seen the program grow since joining three years ago. Mepham had never competed at nationals before this past March and they hope it will be far from the last time.

“They faced some challenges and experienced some disappointments during the season, but it was all a learning experience,” Dennis said. “It made them stronger teammates, stronger performers and even better individuals. They learned a lot about themselves and each other.”

Many teams whom the Mepham girls were up against went about hiring professional choreographers, DJ’s to make the music for routines and even designers to assist with costumes. However, the Pirettes did everything themselves, which, before even touching the competition floor, is a tough task in itself.

“It was unbelievable how much they were willing to work together and enhance dances to improve style,” Geller said. “I was overly impressed with our three captains to work hard on technique where as in years past I don’t feel that was emphasized as much. We threw every challenge at them and they did it to make the team so successful.”

The third captain, junior Jessica Dato, was a key part for the teams’ success this past season. With Zuckerman and Goedel soon graduating, she will be looked at come back and lead the team yet again next year.

A record-setting year for Mepham has only set the bar for teams of the future.

“I really hope that we are able to improve the team even more and seeing teams at nationals has motivated myself and the rest of the team to work harder,” Dato said. “We want to get more tricks done than this year and change a little for the better.”

Overall, the Pirettes will part with seven seniors at the end of this academic year. Although their competitions are completed, their next venture will take place at the “So They Think They Can Dance” Fundraiser on April 14 at Mepham High School, where the girls are in charge of running the event.