For some, dance is nothing more than just a leisurely hobby, passionate art form, or an exhausting sport.

For the 12 girls on the Cal High varsity song team, dance is much more than that. Dance is life.

Led by coach Toneka Webb, the team’s jazz routine “Home, Sweet Home” placed 16th in the nation at UDA Nationals in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 30-31. The team, which  also performed their pom routine, competed at nationals unaffiliated with Cal High because of travel conflicts.

Instead, the team competed as the California Grizzlies.

Nationals is the climax of a long, difficult season for the girls, and senior Jesse Goodman was blown away by the experience.

“It was overwhelming, indescribable,” said Goodman, a three-year member of the team. “There’s lots of pressure, huge crowds, and the other teams there are amazing. It’s very intimidating. But it makes all of the training worth it.”

The team didn’t expect to advance to finals in jazz at nationals, Goodman said.

“When they were announcing the teams moving on to finals, I was comforting everyone, telling them it was OK, and we’d tried our best,” she said. “But then they announced Cal, and we all went crazy.”

This success at Nationals didn’t come out of nowhere. The team’s season truly began at dance camp at UC Davis over the summer, and continued with local competitions and performances at Cal’s varsity basketball and football games.

The team even hosted clinics for younger dancers. This was one of junior Marissa Bernie’s favorite parts of the year.

“The camps we host for the younger girls are really rewarding,” Bernie said. “They really do love it.”

The team worked hard, practicing daily. Their practices consisting of stretching, across-the-floors, and routine work were far from easy. Bernie described the experience as overwhelming.

“The majority of song is hard work. It’s always full of unexpected surprises,” Bernie said. “Every time you come out you get hit with a load and almost every second you feel like you’re going to die. Then, looking back, you can’t believe you actually did it, and you didn’t die.

“Across-the-floors are the scariest part of practice,” she continued. “If you’re wrong or your technique is off, Toneka will make us run and do planks.”

One of the driving forces behind the team’s success is their coach, Webb, who does not go easy on the girls.

“She’s four feet and 11 inches of pure evil, and I’m only kidding a little bit,” Goodman said of her coach, with a laugh. “She works us hard, and pretends to hate us. But I don’t think she really hates us, or else she wouldn’t spend so much time with us.”

When asked to respond to Goodman’s comments Webb said, “Sounds about accurate.

“I describe it as a love-hate relationship – they love me, I hate them,” Webb joked. “They have to hate me on some level. Being honest, my job would be a whole lot easier if they all bonded together and made it their goal to beat me. I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I cared what they thought.”

Webb has been coaching the team for 21 years. When she was a student at Cal High, the freshman cheerleading team asked her to choreograph a routine for them. She did, and the team won their competition with the routine.

They asked Webb to come back and continue to choreograph their routines for them, and she did, leading the team to USA Nationals two years later.

When Webb graduated, a new head cheer adviser was hired at  Cal. The adviser told Webb that he had too many girls trying out for cheer, and he let Webb take her dancers to start her own dance team at the school.

And thus, the song team was born.

“My biggest challenge as a coach is getting each individual to believe that they are capable of doing the things I know they can do,” Webb said. “It is truly rewarding when they realize their potential.”

The girls work hard and it shows when they perform. But the team is more than just their determination and success. They’re also a family.

“One of my favorite things about song is being on the team with all of my best friends,” Goodman said. “We don’t really have a team captain. We all have our own strengths, it isn’t just one person leading us.”

Bernie echoed Goodman’s opinions.

“My teammates are definitely my favorite part of being on the song team,” Bernie said. “I love them. We’re like family.There’s no one else I’d rather have on my team than them.”

The girls on the team also develop nicknames. Goodman said she is known as Rainbow Unicorn, Bernie was dubbed Cheetah Print and junior Jessica Light is called Judith. Webb is affectionately referred to as “T”.

Goodman, the only senior on the team this year, is optimistic about the team’s future.

“There are going to be some really talented girls trying out this year,” she said. “I know the team will be really strong if T works them hard. And I know she will.”