By Elizabeth Eutsler, reporter

The step team practices.

Students, teachers, and parents will soon be seeing the Step Team around the school and during half time at the basketball games.

This year sophomore Ryann Bellamy had the idea to start a new team, a Step Team. Step is a type of dance that involves clapping, stomping, and making noise with the body to make a beat with a group of people.  Mrs. Iris Carter is the sponsor for the Step Team.

Waynesboro High School was represented by a Step Team before. After two years of inactivity the new Step Team is trying to rebuild.

“We want to eventually get into competitions,” said Ms. Jamie Gunn, head coach.

“They are in a rebuilding year,” said Carter.

Step team practice happens every Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:15 to 4:30. Before each practice the team is required to do warm-ups. They work their hips from the cafeteria to the stairs beside the auditorium up to the third floor then back down again. Students and teachers hear the sound of the Step Team all around the school. Then they go straight into practice.

“They are going to be a drill team by the time I get done with them,” said Gunn.

The team has been practicing for four weeks.

At practices the team goes over steps many times to make sure that they are perfect. They rehearse for an hour and 15 minutes working on steps so that they can be ready for games and other events.  The Step Team members learn the steps quickly and then perfect them.

“It is a struggle,” said Bellamy, “learning all the fast steps and having to learn them in a certain amount of time.”

“It’s difficult to learn the claps,” said senior Cassie Laplante, another team member. “It’s fun because you can express yourself.”

Fifteen students are on the Step Team including high school students and middle school students. The middle school students ride the bus from Kate Collins to Waynesboro High School. Each member watches and tries to pick up on the new steps they are taught or they try to make the steps they have already learned better.

The name of the team is the “H.E.A.T.”

“The Heat stands for Hot, Educated, with Attitude, Talented team,” said Bellamy.

Bellamy said, “We’re here and ready to show our haters how the Heat does it!”