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Pep Club is supposed to be a highlight of a young woman's high school experience. For me, it turned out to be just one embarassing moment after another.
I never took dance or gymnastics as a child, so it was my first real attempt at trying to be coordinated. Luckily, the year I tried out, there were hundreds of other uncoordinated sophomores and juniors vying for positions. I made it into the club purely through sheer enthusiasm!
Olympus High Pep Club 1965-66 chose a grand total of 90 girls! When we marched at half-time, I could try to hide in the crowd. As a member of the largest pep club EVER, I spent seventh period class my entire Junior year learning to march in formation to drums, Tiajuana Brass numbers and the High School Pep Band. (This substituted for gym class, so it was a good deal.) Our drill mistress spent hours and hours each week devising new drills to impress the crowds in the stands. Then we spent a week or two trying to follow her instructions. We also learned hand motions to the cheers, so that as we sat in the stands during the football or basketball games, we could cheer along with the cheerleaders, yelling and waving our white-gloved hands.
Pep Club for me was about making friends, going to slumber parties, giggling during the games, going hoarse from screaming and basically having a good time. Learning the marches and hand motions was purely coincidental. I learned quickly that I have two left feet, no sense of direction and absolutely no rhythm, although I had an endless amount school spirit to make up for all the other flaws. Klutz!
Many times I was flustered on the football field or basketball court when I turned left instead of right; when my arms went up instead of down; or when I started with my left foot instead of my right.
However, my most humiliating pep club moment happened off the field. During seventh period on the day of a big home football game, we practiced our half-time march in the gym and as soon as school was over, we were expected to vacate the gymnasium and the girls' lockerroom quickly so the opposing school's football team could use the girls' locker-room to change into their uniforms.
Well, after school on this particular game day, I really needed to go . . . it would only take a second, so I decided to use the potty in the locker room. I entered the stall, pulled up my pep club uniform (see above), pulled down my "petti-pants" and sat down. Just as things got "moving," so to speak, two strapling young men entered the restroom, one going into the stall on my right, the other into the stall on my left. Now, the stall walls were not very high. Definitely not high enough to hide me from two tall, muscular football players. They looked over the walls and saw me sitting there with a very red face. They thought nothing of it and continued to stand there to do their business. I quickly pulled things up and rushed from the rest room into the locker room just in time to see twenty-five young men in various states of undress! And that wasn't even the worst part!
The Pep Club sat in the stands directly behind the opposing team. The guys kept turning around, pointing at me and chuckling. Then just before half-time, we had to exit the stands and stand right in front of their bench while waiting to go onto the field. All the young men recognized me as "the girl who was peeing." I had to march by and smile as I passed those guffawing guys. I'm so glad I made their day. By the way, Granger High lost the game 10-3!
I never took dance or gymnastics as a child, so it was my first real attempt at trying to be coordinated. Luckily, the year I tried out, there were hundreds of other uncoordinated sophomores and juniors vying for positions. I made it into the club purely through sheer enthusiasm!
Olympus High Pep Club 1965-66 chose a grand total of 90 girls! When we marched at half-time, I could try to hide in the crowd. As a member of the largest pep club EVER, I spent seventh period class my entire Junior year learning to march in formation to drums, Tiajuana Brass numbers and the High School Pep Band. (This substituted for gym class, so it was a good deal.) Our drill mistress spent hours and hours each week devising new drills to impress the crowds in the stands. Then we spent a week or two trying to follow her instructions. We also learned hand motions to the cheers, so that as we sat in the stands during the football or basketball games, we could cheer along with the cheerleaders, yelling and waving our white-gloved hands.
Pep Club for me was about making friends, going to slumber parties, giggling during the games, going hoarse from screaming and basically having a good time. Learning the marches and hand motions was purely coincidental. I learned quickly that I have two left feet, no sense of direction and absolutely no rhythm, although I had an endless amount school spirit to make up for all the other flaws. Klutz!
Many times I was flustered on the football field or basketball court when I turned left instead of right; when my arms went up instead of down; or when I started with my left foot instead of my right.
However, my most humiliating pep club moment happened off the field. During seventh period on the day of a big home football game, we practiced our half-time march in the gym and as soon as school was over, we were expected to vacate the gymnasium and the girls' lockerroom quickly so the opposing school's football team could use the girls' locker-room to change into their uniforms.
Well, after school on this particular game day, I really needed to go . . . it would only take a second, so I decided to use the potty in the locker room. I entered the stall, pulled up my pep club uniform (see above), pulled down my "petti-pants" and sat down. Just as things got "moving," so to speak, two strapling young men entered the restroom, one going into the stall on my right, the other into the stall on my left. Now, the stall walls were not very high. Definitely not high enough to hide me from two tall, muscular football players. They looked over the walls and saw me sitting there with a very red face. They thought nothing of it and continued to stand there to do their business. I quickly pulled things up and rushed from the rest room into the locker room just in time to see twenty-five young men in various states of undress! And that wasn't even the worst part!
The Pep Club sat in the stands directly behind the opposing team. The guys kept turning around, pointing at me and chuckling. Then just before half-time, we had to exit the stands and stand right in front of their bench while waiting to go onto the field. All the young men recognized me as "the girl who was peeing." I had to march by and smile as I passed those guffawing guys. I'm so glad I made their day. By the way, Granger High lost the game 10-3!
Our Cheerleaders
1 comment:
That is a funny story!
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