“And in second place..” My heart felt like it was beating a million times per minute. The stone like grip hardened at those words, cutting the circulation off of the hand of my teammates in front and behind me. We’ve been through this a dozen of times, surely we had this in the bag, no doubt about it. Our 12 year streak couldn’t be broken.

“Cannon Falls!” The announcer's voice echoed through the gym, leaving an imprint that would forever be stained on the minds of both me and my teammates. It felt like the air was suctioned out of me. I looked around at the stunned looks on everyone's face, silence. Wait that means- “In first place” the voice broke out again, the heightened looks on the faces of fans cladded in neon headbands and leg warmers seemed to intensify by every second. “Lake City!” It was the loudest I’ve ever heard a group of fans cheer. Their vivid colors seem to clad as one. And to the right of us, our rivals, the ones we’ve beaten many times before stood cheering as loudly as possible, the Conference Champions award high above their heads. Our 12 year streak had been broken.

Confidence is key they say. I had gone into the season with a fresh start. As with every newly season the first few weeks were a bit stressful. Learning a new dance while incorporating facials, counts, and skills was a big handful. Needless to say the weeks went by quickly and we passed with flying colors. Every competition had ended with a big smile on all of our faces accompanied by a new trophy to put on display. Words couldn’t explain how thankful I was for the opportunity to dance with such an amazing team. I’d walk in with confidence at every competition we’d go to, just as I heard a million times before.

It wasn’t until later on in the season when I became “too confident.” I’d walk into a competition my mindset enveloped with the vision of walking out with an award held in both hands, one for Jazz and one for Kick. Our coaches had told us many times before that we should never walk into a competition expecting to win. Winning was something that was earned by hard work and perseverance. Thinking back on it now I wish those words had really gotten to me. I hadn’t thought about those repetitive statements once. That is until they showed up like a match lit, burning with a roaring fire when I was faced with our rivals sporting the conference champion award, praising their victory. Hard work and perseverance.

The day after we arrived at JV state to watch the performances and support our team. Beforehand we finally sat in a circle to break the silence of what had happened the previous night. Talking about hard work and the steps we’d go through to achieve the ultimate comeback had finally stuck with me. In that moment I had finally realized that in order to meet your goals, in order to win, the first step is dedication. In the meantime hard work and perseverance will build on top of that. Winning will never be something that is just handed. Winning is something that is earned.