When West Virginia University and the University of Memphis faced off in last month’s Frisco Bowl, football wasn’t the only excitement on the field.
Two baton twirlers and old friends, WVU junior Hailey Ginder and Memphis freshman Emma Schneider, reunited at the game. Both alumni of Paula’s School of Baton in Mount Joy, Ginder and Schneider performed with their respective college bands at halftime.
They were featured twirlers for their performances, each showcasing their own solo combinations and twirls in front of their approximately 350-member college bands.
The game ended in a victory for Memphis, but both twirlers felt like winners after performing alongside each other once again. For Schneider, it was her first bowl game performance as a first-year college twirler.
“You just love seeing your friends out there because it’s your friend living her best life, and you’re living yours,” Ginder says. “It was really exciting to be there with her.”
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Hailey Ginder, left, and Emma Schneider pose for a picture at Paula’s School of Baton in Mount Joy on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024.
A twirling journey
Since 1985, Paula’s School of Baton owner Paula McAdoo has trained students in performance arts such as acrobatics, dance and baton twirling from her studio in Mount Joy. Many go on to perform with college bands, like Ginder and Schneider, who’ve competed on the baton school’s traveling competition teams throughout grade school.
Although McAdoo couldn’t travel to see the performance in person, she supports the twirling duo from afar and commends them for their hard work and ambition.
“Hailey and Emma were always very eager, very ambitious, not to mention they had a lot of family support, which is huge,” McAdoo says. “It was no surprise to me that they got feature spots at their chosen colleges, because they just know how to work hard.”
Ginder is now one of four of the band’s baton twirlers at West Virginia University, but she first started taking classes at Paula’s School of Baton when she was 3 years old. By the time she turned 6, she was competing with the school, both on a team and individually.
Schneider, now a freshman at the University of Memphis, started taking a tap-dancing class at the school when she was 4. But the glamour of baton twirling caught her eye at her first recital, inspiring her to take private baton lessons and join the school’s competition team, where she continued until middle school.
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Despite their two-year age difference, the duo often performed together at national competitions, traveling to states like Georgia, South Carolina, and West Virginia before they were even teenagers.
“Emma and Hailey were on some teams together that developed into very elite and advanced teams, winning national honors,” McAdoo says. “They’ve both been on teams where they’ve been able to be recognized as outstanding.”
Both continued twirling in their high school marching bands. Ginder began twirling for the Manheim Central High School marching band in 8th grade, while Schneider began twirling for the Elizabethtown Area High School marching band in 6th grade.
“It was a really great experience, because usually, you start your freshman year,” Schneider says. “But I got to start early.”
Both were at times the only twirlers on their high school’s team, and the experience showed them the magic of performing for a crowd and getting a team excited for a game rather than just competing against other twirlers. This love for performance led them to seek the same experience in college.
“On the field, you just want to show people how fun your sport is, compared to competing where you’re just up against other people,” Schneider says.
Hailey Ginder, left, and Emma Schneider pose for a picture at Paula’s School of Baton in Mount Joy on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024.
College and beyond
Schneider auditioned at several colleges during her senior year of high school before committing to the University of Memphis.
Ginder began twirling at WVU during her sophomore year and has since appeared on TV with the WVU marching band at the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; it was insane,” says Ginder of the parade. “I got major TV time, and my phone was blowing up.”
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When the teams were announced for the 2024 Frisco Bowl, Ginder and Schneider texted each other immediately. When they learned they would both be featured twirlers at the game, they were ecstatic.
“It was really fun,” Schneider says. “It was really good to see Hailey there and watch her perform, because I’d never had the opportunity to see her in West Virginia.”
As the college football season comes to an end, Ginder and Schneider will spend their spring semester practicing new routines for the next football season. They’ll also perform at other athletic events and college band competitions across the country.
While home for winter break, Ginder and Schneider have helped at Paula’s School of Baton, teaching, critiquing and coaching younger twirlers. They plan to continue twirling for the rest of their college years, and both are pursuing health careers after graduation. Ginder, a biology pre-health major, hopes to become a physician assistant, and Schneider is studying to become a child life specialist.
“The support and structure that Paula has given me and the opportunities that have opened up have been life-changing,” Ginder says. “Seeing Emma was a full-circle moment where I realized how far we’ve all come. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without baton.”
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