Bethpage High School is home to numerous outstanding athletic teams. Take Varsity Kickline, in particular. This team spends months preparing for performances both inside and outside of practice. Today, The Eagles Cry is going to take a further look into what it is really like to be a BHS Golden Girl.
18 girls made up the Bethpage Varsity Kickline Team for the 2023–2024 season: 1 freshman, 3 sophomores, 10 juniors, and 4 graduating seniors.
The season for this team started in May 2023 with tryout training. By June 2nd, a team had been formed. To help them get ready for the forthcoming football season, the team spent the entire summer practicing. By the beginning of September, this team was ready to take to the football field for halftime. Izzy Romero, a 2nd year varsity member, said, “Throughout the summer, we learned about 5 routines in addition to our 3 band dances.”
Simultaneously with the game season, the Golden Girls began preparation for their upcoming competition season. Starting at the end of September, the team met with three different choreographers who helped them create three challenging routines that they would compete in throughout the winter.
Throughout the months of January and February, the girls showed off their three new routines to all of Long Island. In just two short months, the girls were able to accomplish so much. First-year varsity member Jessie Maietta said, “We are 2024 NDA regional champions with our game day routine and runner-up with our kick routine!”
While many other students were home relaxing during February Break, this was crunch time for the golden girls! With Nationals around the corner, the team held practice every day from 8:30 to 1:00. 2nd year varsity member Abby O’Hara said that “even though February break practices are tiring, it gives us the time to take our routines to the next level before showcasing them to the nation!”
On March 6th, 2024, the girls took a trip down to Florida for NDA nationals. The team competed in 3 categories: Large Varsity Team, Small Varsity Kick, and Small Varsity Gameday. Throughout the week, they worked hard to make a name for BHS. They finished 7th in the nation for their kick routine in the largest kick division of all of nationals and 6th in the nation with their Game Day routine.
As the 2024 kickline season came to a close, The Eagles Cry wanted to take a moment to recognize all of the hard work and dedication behind those high kicks and clean technique. The Bethpage Varsity Golden Girls never fail to make BHS proud, and we can’t wait to see all the great things in store for the 2024-2025 team!
