Two weeks to kickoff: NSU spirit groups prepare for football season

Two weeks to kickoff: NSU spirit groups prepare for football season

Pom Line, Spirit of Northwestern and NSU Cheer members are practicing before the start of classes as they prepare for the Aug. 27 football season opener.

NATCHITOCHES – Before most Northwestern State University students move onto campus Aug. 14-15, members of NSU’s spirit groups are already practicing for the upcoming football season.

Members of the Pom Line, Spirit of Northwestern Marching Band and NSU Cheer return to campus early for practices focused on gameday performances, conditioning and learning material for the season. The preparation comes ahead of NSU’s season opener against Louisiana Christian at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, in Turpin Stadium.

New Pom Line members moved in on Aug. 10, and the team began two-a-day practices on Aug. 11. Lauryn Vernon of Arcadia, a senior and Pom Line captain, said the early practices give members time to prepare their pregame material, sidelines, cheers, and routines before the first game.

“Since the first football game is in two weeks now, it’s so important for us to get here and go ahead and get all of our pregame stuff ready and all of our routines ready so that we can be ready for the rest of the season,” Vernon said.

The team also spends the week conditioning and rebuilding stamina after the summer. Vernon said that preparation becomes especially important when the team is performing outside during football season.

“It is hard to dance and smile and look presentable while the sun is beaming down on our face at football games, so it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sweat to do what we do,” Vernon said.

Members of the Spirit of Northwestern also return to campus before the semester to prepare music and formations for football season. The Spirit of Northwestern Marching Band also includes the Demon Heat Color Guard and Demon Dazzlers.

Bailee McDonald of Haughton, a junior piccolo player in the Spirit of Northwestern, said band members are spending their preseason practices learning their positions and movements on the field and memorizing music for pregame performances.

“It’s a lot of sweating, a lot of hydrating and a lot of teamwork,” McDonald said. “You wouldn’t think that marching and playing your instrument is that hard from an outsider perspective, but really it’s super tough.”

NSU Cheer also began two-a-day practices on Aug. 11 after new members moved in on Aug. 10. Andrew Dreher of Loranger, a junior and NSU Cheer captain, said practices include field run-throughs, cardio, and other conditioning to prepare the team to perform on the sidelines in the heat.

“This week of practice is pretty intensive,” Dreher said. “We’re doing two-a-days, and that’s kind of where we are going to get our heat acclimation. We are going to do our run-throughs on the field; we are going to do a lot of cardio and things to make sure we are ready to cheer on the sidelines because it does get really hot.”

Senior NSU Cheer captain Kelsei Spears of Pineville said the week is focused on preparing for pregame, reviewing gameday responsibilities and establishing expectations for the season.

“This week is just going to be mainly gameday focused, getting ready for the different things that we do during pregame and just gamedays in general, just going through the expectation of the whole season,” Spears said.

For Dreher, completing that preparation before the semester begins also gives team members an opportunity to focus on academics once classes are underway.

“Classes can be very hectic. It’s really hard to balance out a sport and having classes, and so we have to come before to make sure that when the school year starts, we are not athlete students, and we are student-athletes,” Dreher said.

NSU will begin the fall semester Monday, Aug. 17. The Demons will open the 2026 football season against Louisiana Christian at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 in Turpin Stadium.

To learn more about NSU’s spirit groups, visit nsula.edu/spirit-groups.

NSU Spirit Groups Prepare for Football Season

NSU Cheer member Sofia Albores performs a stunt during practice as the team prepares for the fall football season.