Name:  Tracy Mernin

I twirled with the Strutters from:  1974-1987

When I twirled I lived in:  Woburn

I now live in:  Somerville, MA

After high school I:  went to school at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, then started a career at Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women, where I worked for 13 years.  I also received a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology from Northeaster University in 1995.

Currently I:  am a Private Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor at The Sports Club LA/Boston.

My most memorable twirling moment:  so many to choose from!!!!  The breathtaking views of the Mediterranean from the village squares we performed at during our Goodwill trip to Spain is probably my most memorable moment.  Even at age 14 I could appreciate that!  I also have GREAT memories of the Connecticut Girls' Sports Camps and the Twirling Camps at Fairfield University (talent shows, room decorating, contests, dances with the boys camps...hahahaha!!!!), penpals with the Liberty Belle Strutters (we still keep in touch!), RV-ing at the World's Fair in Tennessee...many, many more!!

What life lesson I learned from twirling:  wow...where to begin?  Of course, there are the obvious things such as coordination and general fitness, but I also learned how to handle pressure with grace, how to be a teammate, a leader, and a friend.  I learned how to be a good sport, how to lose and win with grace, poise, and gratitude.  I will always remember competing against Tracey ("Miss Tracey" in a Miss Majorette of Massachusetts pageant and both of us saying, and truly meaning it, that as long as one of us won, we'd be happy (one of us did, and the other came in 2nd).  I learned that all I can do is my absolute best, and that as long as I just put forth that effort, it doesn't matter what anyone else does.  That lesson came at a contest early in my career where I watched the twirler before me perform a nearly flawless routine, which completely psyched me out, and I think I dropped the baton about 500 times...after that, I just focused on what I knew I could do in my own routines and let everyone else do their own thing.  I learned how to be disciplined...that practice may not make PERFECT, but it certainly helps!!  I was really struggling with elbow rolls, so one summer, I devoted an entire hour every day to just practicing those, in addition to practicing my routines.  I was an elbow roll pro by the end of that summer.  These are just a few, but they are lessons that I still carry with me to this day.

My twirling teacher was:  Diane AND Elaine

I still take out my batons once in a while (true/false):  Of COURSE!!!  I help Miss Tracey on occasion, and I actually twirled in a parade in 1007 (I forgot how tiring that was!!), and my friends are always asking me to show them some tricks!  It's a great party trick!  I have some friends whose son takes lessons in NH, and I'll give him some pointers when I visit (I actually always have a baton in my car)...but I also have a baton in my kitchen and I'll just start doing some tosses and rolls and finger twirls on occasion.  It relaxes me.

The team I was on was:  EEK!!!  I don't remember our name!!

Other:  It's funny...people always look shocked when I tell them I was a baton twirler (well, actually, I still AM because of some stereotypes that they may have...but I always say it with pride.  Baton, and the Gangi family, gave me so much and taught me so much.  I am certain that I am the person I am today because I am a Gangi Bay State Strutter.