While the starlets spin their colorful flags and throw their rifles, one girl among them is a little younger than the rest. When a coach saw 12-year-old Lyndsey McIntyre spinning a flag at a starlets fundraising carwash, she was very impressed by her natural talent of color guard skills.

“[The coach] said I was doing great for my first time holding a flag and wanted me to join the team,” McIntyre said.

Despite being much younger than the other girls, she has adjusted very well to the competitive, fast-paced high school environment. Her coaches and captains are very proud of her rapid progress and dedication to improving her skills. McIntyre has worked hard to keep up with girls, most of whom are at least two years older than her. According to her captains, McIntyre can perform just as well as any other first year on the team and gracefully holds her own.

“I can tell she practices a lot and is eager to learn because she knows she is younger than the other members and wants to prove herself. She also asks questions and shows that she wants to grow and learn, her enthusiasm makes it easy for her to adapt and easier for us to teach her,” Petra De Jenzano (’23), one of the team’s captains, said.

The captains and older teammates help to encourage her just like any first year, but with the added age gap, sometimes extra positive reinforcement is necessary to keep her motivated.

“Petra and I both sometimes have to pull her aside to let her know she’s doing good. She gets discouraged sometimes, but the entire team helps out too. She has a junior who is her ‘big’, or her partner, that’s more experienced and can help her,” Captain Gavyn Granger Welch (23′) said.

Starting to learn all new routines quickly was stressful for her at first, but she has found a second family in her teammates. This has helped her find her stride and grow in her confidence in learning and performing with the team.

“I enjoy the environment. The other girls are nice and fun to work with… we are all pretty close and help each other. Gavyn calls us all her starlet babies,” McIntyre said.

When it comes to team bonding activities, the team wants her to be there. Not only because they don’t want her feeling left out due to the age gap, but because they genuinely see her as a friend and an important part of their team.

“The main challenge is just trying to help her relax in the stress of practices and performances, but once she gets past her feelings of being overwhelmed, she’s actually really talented,” De Jenzano said.

McIntyre shows a lot of promise for the near future as she continues to try new things and learn more with each practice. While she works on perfecting all of her new skills, it’s exciting for her team to think of what McIntyre will be capable of with a few seasons’ worths of practice as she becomes a student at Robinson and a full-time Starlet.