The more school spirit, the merrier the games: Creation of MC’s POM Squad highlights differences between clubs and teams, but all work for a common goal of supporting MC

Two types of pom-poms can now be found on Maryville College’s campus. The first set belongs to the Cheerleading team, coached by alumna Nikki Whaley (‘20), who cheered during her four years at MC, and came back to coach in 2021. The second set of pompoms belong to the POM Squad, a student run club which was launched this fall. Confusion clouds the differences between these two organizations.

Some of this confusion can be cleared up by understanding how campus clubs differ from athletic teams. Cheerleading is an athletic team at MC, so they abide by the regulations set by the college’s athletic department.

However, as the team does not currently compete, they are not part of a conference. Even without competitions, the cheer team is considered a non-varsity sport and is funded by the athletic department. 

Whaley stated that this allows the team access to resources, but also holds athletes to certain standards. Student athletes must sign waivers, pass a physical, and maintain certain levels of academic achievement, per the college. 

Similarly, the MC POM Squad members also must maintain levels of academic achievement. However, the difference is that the founders of POM set these standards, rather than the MC athletics department.

POM Squad is a student run club on campus, additionally serving as an MC dance team. It was founded after Vanessa Laguerre (‘26) felt that there was a huge demand for some form of dance on campus, and a diverse space for students to express themselves. 

The Dance Team at MC used to be coached by Whaley as well, and she was initially appointed as the Cheerleading and Dance Head Coach. However, the Dance Team at the college no longer remains, and POM Squad has filled the gap, as a club rather than a team.

“We wanted it to be a part of athletics,” Laguerre said, speaking on the initial intentions with founding the club. “[But] the head of the department at the time said that they weren’t ready for a dance team on the athletics end.” 

After many conversations with students and faculty, a clinic to gauge interest was held. According to Laguerre, the clinic went well, and the formation of POM Squad began, with its first official season in the 2024-2025 school year. 

The cheer team and POM Squad share space on game days, which may have caused tensions between the students at first, but their common goal of supporting the athletes remains.

“I think it is just about the mutual understanding that we want to support our school and provide a fun atmosphere for the game day experience,” Whaley said. 

The groups continue to dance and cheer for the Scots alongside each other. An anonymous cheerleader stated: “We get along fine during games, cheering and chatting together. There is no bad blood with [the POM Squad] at all.”

Some of the tenets that are most important to the POM Squad leadership and members are listed in their student written contract. They aim to support all athletic teams with school spirit, and they emphasize being inclusive, involved and present.

“I love to see all of the school spirit and the hard work that goes into game days, so it is nice to have even more people out there supporting the Scots,” said Whaley, offering her support for the addition of the POM Squad at athletic events.

While a team has a coach, a club has a faculty advisor—one of the major differences between the two. For the POM Squad, the interim faculty advisor is MC’s Director of DEI Aja Rodriguez. 

When asked how she became involved, Aja Rodriguez said that Katelynn Adams was the original advisor approached by Laguerre.

“Katelynn worked [with] me in the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and when she left, I took over both of the student organizations she was advising,” Rodriquez said.

She added that she enjoys being the advisor for students who work so hard and support others through their commitment to POM Squad. While they dance at athletic events, community involvement is also important for the POM Squad. 

Laguerre said that they work in the Maryville community together, “dancing and looking good while doing it,” she added. 

“We love having this space to dance and I can’t wait to continue to see where it goes. I’m so proud to be behind this squad that can dance their tail-feathers off. I can’t wait for [everyone] to see what we’re capable of.”