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homerhorizon.com SPORTS
the Homer Horizon | January 25, 2018 | 41
Athlete of the Week
10 Questions
with Maddy Smietanski
Maddy Smietanski is a
senior at Lockport Township
and a member of the
competitive dance team.
How would you describe
competitive dance?
Well, now it’s called competitive
dance, but it used to be
called the poms team. It’s
sort of a mixture of cheer and
dance, but it’s more of a style.
People think of it as an art
form, but you’re judged on an
entire team performance, not
just as an individual.
How did you get
involved in competitive
dance?
When I was in junior high,
I loved playing basketball.
I was on the team there,
played travel, everything.
But I also did dance. So,
when it came to high school,
I was debating on basketball
or dance. But my teammates
from Elite Dance Academy
studio [in Homer Glen]
convinced me to stick with
dance, and I love it.
This Week In...
Porters Varsity
Athletics
Boys Swimming and
Diving
■Jan. ■ 25 at Homewood-
Flossmoor, 5 p.m.
Girls Bowling
■Jan. ■ 27 at Dixon Invite, 9
a.m. at Plum Hollow Center
■Jan. ■ 30 host Minooka, 4:15
p.m. at Strike and Spare II
Boys Basketball
■Jan. ■ 26 at Stagg, 6:30 p.m.
■Jan. ■ 30 host Joliet Central,
What do you love about
it?
I love the friends that I’ve
made. I’m the youngest of
four and have three older
brothers [Jake, David, Matt],
so they’re the sisters I never
had. But I’m also very competitive.
So, I love competing
and the determination. I
love setting goals and reaching
them.
How did the SouthWest
Suburban Conference
meet go for the team?
That was on Jan. 10 at
Bolingbrook. We finished
third, but we had a point
violation for jewelry. Otherwise,
we would have won.
So, it was disappointing, but
we know in our heart that
we won.
Have you gone to state
before?
Yes. I personally made it to
state freshman year and junior
year. So, I hope to make
it again this year. We do the
same dance performance
6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
■Jan. ■ 25 at Lincoln-Way East,
6:30 p.m.
■Jan. ■ 30 host Homewood-
Flossmoor, 5 p.m.
Celtics Varsity
Athletics
Boys Basketball
■Jan. ■ 26 host Leo, 7 p.m.
■Jan. ■ 30 at Lincoln-Way East,
6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
all year. So, there’s a lot of
cleaning and perfecting the
performance.
How do you come up
with the routine?
In the past, we’ve used an
outside choreographer, but
for this one, other than getting
a few pointers, we didn’t
have to get an outside choreographer.
We choreographed
it all ourselves. The song we
perform to is called “Something
in the Water,” and it’s
by Carrie Underwood. We
like that she’s relative, but
we wanted to make it our
own. We wear blue, sparkly
costumes and smile and
dance throughout it.
Since you perform to the
same song all year, do
you ever get tired of it?
We’ve been doing it since
October, so a good, solid
three to four months. In the
past, I’ve got tired of it, but
not this year. We came up
with it and did it. But there
are times you don’t even
hear the song as you’re
■Jan. ■ 30 at Joliet West,
5 p.m.
Boys Bowling
■Jan. ■ 26 IHSA State Final,
TBD
■Jan. ■ 27 IHSA State Final,
TBD
Cheerleading
■Jan. ■ 27 IHSA Sectional
Final, TBA
Wrestling
■Jan. ■ 25 at Mount Carmel,
6 p.m.
performing. You just hear the
count and the beat.
What have you learned
from Julie Rolston, your
competitive dance coach
Voting
is now
open!
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at Lockport?
This is her first year as head
coach. She was an assistant
last year. She always says,
“Less is more.” But I’ve also
learned to go all out and be
confident from her. She’s
voting open
Jan. 18-feb. 12
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always very encouraging,
uplifting and has faith in us.
Are you planing to do
anything with dance in
college?
Yes. I could either go and
continue dance at a college
like DePaul in Chicago or
Grand Valley State in Michigan.
Or, I could go study
it at a university and get a
major or minor in it. Then
potentially go teach it. But
I’m leaning toward going
to continue to do dance as
a performer.
What is the best thing
about being an athlete at
Lockport?
I think that Lockport sets a
very good environment for
everyone. All the coaches
at Lockport are very helpful
and encouraging.
Interview by Freelance Reporter
Randy Whalen