The School Newspaper of Lawrence High School.

The Budget

The School Newspaper of Lawrence High School.

The Budget

The School Newspaper of Lawrence High School.

The Budget

Role Reversal: Chess and Pom Squad members switch places

Junior Brandon Marcure is a member of the LHS chess team. He was taught how to play chess when he was only four years old by his father, but he never played much until last semester when he joined the Chess Club. Marcure has very little dance experience.

            Junior Nikki McGrew has been taking dance lessons for almost her whole life. She participated in LHS pom her sophomore and junior year, and last year the squad competed at Disney World and won. She has never played chess in her life.

Brandon’s side-

            From pawns to pom poms, Marcure took on the ultimate challenge of being a part of LHS’s pom squad.

“I expected dancing with the pom squad to be awkward, but it wasn’t,” Marcure said. “They had me go into these different positions that made me have to stretch a little more than usual, but it was fun.”

            Marcure came to the pom squad without much dance experience. His cousin, a crump dancer, taught him a few things, but he had a feeling that pom was going to be a lot more complicated.

            Pom was a lot more than just dancing. Marcure learned it took a lot of flexibility and being put into positions that can be somewhat uncomfortable.

Marcure was instructed to kick up his leg as high as he could and hold it there with hands for several seconds. He was surprisingly successful with this stunt.

“Whether you’re playing chess or dancing on the pom squad, both help to get you involved with LHS, which is great,” Marcure said.

 

Nikki’s side-

            Since the age of just two, junior Nikki McGrew has spent most of her time dancing. McGrew has stepped out of her dance shoes and into the analytical world of chess.

“Playing chess with Brandon was fun, and it’s definitely not something I’ve done before,” McGrew said.

            Going into the match against Marcure, McGrew did not have any chess experience. To start off, Marcure showed her the basics of the game.

“Nikki learned how to move the pieces quick [stet] which was nice,” Marcure said.

            Marcure said he has taught people how to play chess before, but none of them seemed to learn as quickly as McGrew.

“It was hard to remember all the different directions each piece could go, but since Brandon knew what he was doing he was able to help me a lot,” McGrew said.

In the end, Marcure defeated McGrew.

            “I would probably play it again but not a lot, just to practice,” Mcgrew said. “Chess Club isn’t something I’d consider joining just because I’m not very good at it.”

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