Camille Smith (12, J&C) is the step team captain, wrestling team manager and an athletic trainer for the football and wrestling teams.

Smith talked about her experience with wrestling.

“It’s fun when you’re on a winning streak or one of your wrestlers wins first or second individually in a tournament and it’s fun when you’re all doing shenanigans,” Smith said. “But when it comes for a wrestler to win their match and go out there, we are all one big team rooting for the same thing.”

She said she favors step team over football.

“I enjoy football for the free t-shirts and scholarship opportunities for being an athletic trainer, but I enjoy step team because it’s more of a family bond and it’s closer than football,” Smith said

Smith describes the responsibilities of step team.

“The football season only lasts so long: you start out with summer practices in June or mid July, and you’re out there five days a week in the hot sun, and it wears you out until the end of the season,” Smith said. “But when football season ends in mid to late November, it’s like your whole schedule opens up and that’s why I decided to do wrestling.”

“Step team is harder because as a captain you have to be very courageous, strong and determined,” Smith said.

“Being captain of the step team consists of making up a routine, having it perfectly timed for a competition or pep rally, learning your steps and teaching the other people what they need to know,” Smith said. “It also consists of a lot of organization and planning of the routines, competitions and pep rallies. If it’s not up to par, you call extra practices within the week so your team can be ready.”

Smith talked about some of the opportunities that come with being an athletic trainer.

“If you are a student athletic trainer for your school for two more years you can get different scholarships. One of the ones I applied for is the Jack Cramer Scholarship. If the athletic trainer at your school is part of the Athletic Trainers’ Association of America, they can write you a recommendation for the scholarship,” Smith said.

“It’s boring, but I like it because I’ll get more scholarship money and it gives me more experience for what I’ll be able to do and what I will do after the college world,” Smith said.