BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — High school football is back in the Buckeye State, but it’s not just the players on the field who are preparing to shine under the “Friday night lights.”
What You Need To Know
- The Bay High School Rockettes dance drill team is preparing for its 60th season of performing with the marching band
- Leanne Rohlke was a Rockette in the 1970s and coached the team for 12 years
- The game on Friday, August 19 will feature an alumni band performance and other surprises to celebrate Bay High School’s 100th anniversary
The Bay High School Rockettes dance drill team is preparing for its 60th season of performing with the marching band. The team holds a special place in Leanne Rohlke’s heart.
“Once a Rockette, always a Rockette,” she said.
Rohlke was a member of the team in the 1970s and later coached the team for 12 years. Several of her daughters followed in her footsteps as members of the team.
“The second I hear the band from a distance, like I hear those drums, it brings back all the memories,” said Carleigh Walton, a Rockette from 2007-2011.
Walton, along with two of her sisters, Marie Lowe and Brenna Rohlke, shared a walk down memory lane with their mom about their time on the team.
“It’s not about one girl and how good she looks, it’s about all of us looking amazing together,” said Leanne Rohlke.
“And then all those legs go up in a kickline,” said Lowe, who was on the squad from 2003-2007. “You have to look like a uniformed single unit.”
Those kicks, splits and other dance moves require some serious athleticism, Leanne Rohlke said.
“They have to be fit, they have to have cardiovascular strength,” she said. “They’re kicking and dancing for four or five minutes at a time.”
But as a coach, Leanne Rohlke said it wasn’t her job to create dancers.
“My job wasn’t to teach them about dancing or kicking, but to give them skills they could take with them to college or jobs or into life,” she said.
“You think it’s just a fun little thing to do outside of school, but yeah, I definitely learned a lot from that,” said Brenna Rohlke, a Rockette from 2013-2017.
“A lot of responsibility,” Walton said.
A big part of the team’s responsibility is to carry on traditions, the women said. Even though the squad is going into its sixth decade, the team’s classic red, white and blue style is timeless.
“That’s very special as a Rockette,” Walton said. “Like, the uniforms are sacred.”
“Same boots,” said Leanne Rohlke. “We had the same boots, though, for sure. Except for a little higher heel. Lots of tradition.”
Traditions and memories they’re now hoping to pass down to the next generation.
“It’s definitely come full circle for all of us,” Brenna Rohlke said.
Lowe said, “It’s all my oldest talks about is being a Rockette, and she’s 5.”
This year’s squad will carry on the sisterhood of school spirit during the football team’s first home game at 7 p.m. on Aug. 19 at Bay High when the team takes on West Geauga.
It’s a special game with an alumni band performance and other surprises to celebrate Bay High School’s 100th anniversary.
