BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
Taylor Thyes (TICE) is a senior at De Pere High School on the dance team.
In her spare time, she likes to hang out with her cats.
Thyes plans to study nursing in college and is hopeful to attend UWGB, but dance is probably not in her future.
Name: Taylor Thyes
Nickname: TNT
School: De Pere
Sports: Dance
Parents: Beth and Carl Thyes
Twitter: @TayBaee124
Tell me about your family.
“I have two siblings. My younger sister named Riley is a sophomore at De Pere and my younger brother Ricky just entered the seventh grade. My mom has lived in De Pere her whole life, but my dad is from Denmark.”
Do you come from a sports family?
“My dad was in basketball during high school, and Ricky plays basketball and football.”
How about a high school sport you wish you would have done?
“It would have been fun to do volleyball, but it really hurts my wrists. I love watching it.”
How many years have you been involved in dance?
“I had no dance experience before I entered my freshman year at De Pere. I was pretty lucky to just make the team – I was so bad. Looking back on videos, I cringe at what I saw.”
Tell the reader what a dance practice is like and how hard it is.
“It’s 2½ hours long and we focus on a lot of upper-body strength and stretching to begin. We then move into our routines and do a lot of drilling. The season is nine or 10 months long. Practices are hard – I sweat a lot and I’m sore afterward.”
What do you say when you hear people say, “Dance isn’t a sport?”
“Football teams have plays and formations, and so do we. We have to learn formations and we have specific routines. It’s very physically demanding, but it’s also very team based. In a competition, if somebody messes up, it’s very noticeable because everyone is doing the same thing. We have high endurance.”
How is the team shaping up this season?
“We just got new coaches from Hortonville and Green Bay Preble, and I think it’s going well. We have a lot of underclassmen. The freshmen are putting in a lot of work.”
Do you have a most memorable dance moment?
“Besides making the team my freshman year, that year we did extremely well at state – we placed fifth in pom and fourth in kick. It was the highest De Pere ever placed.”
Do dance members from opposing teams get along well?
“We get along mainly with every team really well. Dance is really hard, so even when other teams screw up, we understand it’s not easy.”
What is something about you most people wouldn’t know?
“I’m introverted at school, but once I break out of my shell, I’m very outgoing – maybe even annoying. I’m shy but outgoing at the same time.”
Name a person that has made a big impact on your life.
“My mom because she handles everything for me and makes sure I’m on the right track – not just with dance but with my whole life.”
What three words best describe you?
“laid-back, smart, helpful.”
Talk about a favorite family vacation.
“Last summer we went to Wisconsin Dells and Six Flags – that was fun.”
Finish this sentence: On Sunday mornings you can usually find me …
“In bed – I don’t wake up unless I have to.”
How will Taylor Thyes be remembered at De Pere High School?
“As the girl who wore sweatpants and pajamas every day. Also, being quiet and reserved in class. Sometimes I don’t do the norm.”
Dogs or cats?
“Cats.”
Lie on the beach or ski down the slopes?
“Ski down the slopes.”
Read the book or watch the movie?
“Watch the movie.”
Carpet or hardwood?
“Hardwood.”
Jazz or pom?
“Pom.”
Favorites
Food: Pizza
Cereal: Fruity Pebbles
Phone app: Snapchat
Holiday: Halloween
Board game: Trouble
Notes: All spotlights can be found online at gopresstimes.com. Check out the last De Pere spotlight on Carolyn Merkatoris.