This Saturday, Dec. 13, marks the dance team’s first competition of the season.

The competition will be held at Liberty High School with the OP Pommies taking the floor in the afternoon, at 2:54 and 3:54.

Stephanie Coomes, who served as the assistant coach in the 2013-2014 season, assumed the position of head coach this year. Coomes is pleased with the team’s progress and has confidence all their hard work will pay off this weekend.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Coach Coomes on her thoughts about this weekend:

Q: How long has your team been preparing for this competition?

A: The team has been preparing for competition since the beginning of the year in terms of technique, flexibility and execution. Installing and improving these areas allows for higher skills and more difficult “tricks” to be instilled during competition. The particular competition dances have been then main area of focus since October.

Q: Do you feel as if they are ready?

A: There is always room for improvement. As dancers, we are always able to strengthen through our arms more, higher our kicks and hit turns more precisely.

Q: What do you think makes a winning dance team?

A: Motivation and the desire to win. It takes accountability on both coaches and dancers. Hard work, perseverance and dedication.

Q: What do you hope your girls take away from this competition?

A: That their hard work has paid off and they felt they did their best. I hope that they learned how to work as a team and saw personal growth. I hope they are happy with themselves and all they have accomplished.

Q: How do you feel, you yourself, has prepared for this?

A: Reflecting on how the year has been and identifying strengths and weaknesses of coaching. Also taking into account the knowledge I have gained of the girls – such as how they handle criticism best and what motivates them. I used this to determine how I would handle competition season and how to push them to do their best.

Q: What made you want to take on the role of being the Pommies’ coach?

A: Being a Pommie alumnae, I wanted to keep traditions going and bring back those that have been lost. I wanted to share what I have learned in my experiences “post-Pommie life.” The biggest motivation was having the opportunity to be a role model for these young ladies and have some impact on them and their high school career.