“Dedicate every moment at practice and continue to work hard to be one of the four finalists!” wrote senior pom captain Bella Garbero with a green marker on a big, white parchment paper posted in the back of Pinnacle High School’s dance room.

The paper was hung after the team took home the title at the AIA Spiritline State Championships last month.

“She knew what it took to be apart of this team,” said pom coach Kaley Nowaczyk. "All of the teams here are incredible with athletics and they’re held to a high standard and she had no exception for pom.”

For Garbero, dance is more than just pompoms, banners, leaps and rings; it’s a passion that has kept her turning like a pirouette since she was a kid.

“Basically, my mom took me to dance class when I was 3-years-old,” said Garbero.  “A ballet class with tutus and everything and I havent stopped. I’ve been dancing ever since.”

It wasn’t until she realized dance was her passion that she began dedicating her life around it. She took it upon herself to audition for her studio’s competition team and made the cut. 

This competition team is where she competed in all different styles of dance - hip hop,  jazz, tap and lyrical. 

“You name it, we did it. So I really have every background there is,” said Garbero.

She was junior varsity pom captain her freshman year - a year that helped her determine how she wanted to finish the rest of her high schoo career. She remembers watching the varsity team and being inspired by their passion.

“You felt something watching them.”

Her senior year paralleled that as she, once again, entered each practice as captain.

Garbero is a natural born leader with the way she talks, the way she presents herself and engages her team. The team holds onto every word she says.

“I’ve learned how to resolve conflicts within a team and different personalities,” she said. “It’s been really great. I’m learning more about myself than I ever have before by being on the team.”

Nowaczyk said there were many dynamics on the team this year.

“She was able to talk and converse with every single girl on this team build a relationship one-on-one with every girl on this team which is extremely important in a captain and a senior,” said Nowaczyk.

If there is one thing she is hoping to have made an impact with on the program, it’s with her passion. 

“I hope it’s passed down to the them. It’s not just coming here and you just talk to your friends. You come here because you love what you do. You come here because you want to become better at it and you want to grow from it,” said Garbero. “I hope they remember me as someone who really cared about what she did.”

Nowaczyk said Gabero leaves behind a “very wonderful” legacy.

“Just the way that she is in practice and the way that she encourages the girls, but also in the way that she finds faults in the team and says, “I know we can do this. Why don’t you know we can do this?” and she’s just like that little extra umf that I need as a coach underneath myself. Just to be that liaison for me to the the team so that it’s not just always barking coming from the coach , but someone who’s out on the floor with them,” said Nowaczyk.

Garbero walks across the graduation platform in a few months and is looking to further her dancing career in college.

She recently made a trip to UCLA to attend a dance prep clinic and is applying for its dance major.

Her father graduated from the school. She even wore a UCLA cheer uniform around as a kid during Bruins games. It's a memory she hopes in relive, this time as a member of their team.