Naomi Girson | opinions editor

Every weekend, Duquesne University freshman Haley Gitsky and several of her teammates carpool the four hours to and from baton twirling practice in Findlay, Ohio. On their long commutes back, they often hold a casual, debrief to close out the long day of practice, and according to teammate Lilly Stahlman, Glitsky doesn’t shy away from the conversation.

“She takes part in that, in not being judgmental about what other people think, taking things into consideration and bouncing back off what you think,” Stahlman said.

Glitsky has been twirling since she was 2 or 3 years old, and since then, it has always been a part of her life. Before Glitsky was twirling, her mom was doing the same in high school majorettes. Eventually, she became Glitsky’s coach. By the time she was about 13, she made it to a senior team after someone else had to back out..

“I had to relearn everything because I wasn’t taught anything properly and got thrown in,” Glitsky said. 

But she went to nationals for the first time, with the senior team.

Now, her team, ShowTwirlers, has qualified for Team USA in baton twirling and will be competing in the 2026 International Baton Twirling Federation World Freestyle and Rhythmic Championships for the Nations Cup Level A Senior Team. She and the rest of the senior team, composed of eight girls and two substitutes, are travelling to Paris, France, this August to represent the United States on the international stage.

Stahlman is on the team headed to Paris this year too, and though she said qualifying was a moment of relief for the team, there is still room to improve, which Glitsky can always find.

“I think that she’ll definitely continue her strive for helping our team get to perfection and so that we can perform well even on the international level,” Stahlman said.

At Duquesne, she studies forensic psychology, and joined the ballroom dance club and the dance team at school. But, she still keeps up with her baton twirling, waking up at 3 a.m. every weekend for a long commute and a full day of training.

Glitsky has been twirling all her life, and because of that, she has developed a strong mindset to get her through tough times. Growing up, she had a coach that made practice cumbersome, but she never let it affect her feelings about the sport.

“I knew that she wanted me to be done. She sort of said, ‘I don’t want to deal with you. No one will ever want to deal with you,’” Glitsky said. “And [I knew], that’s what she wants. And I could [quit] but I could always separate twirling from her.”

Long-time teammate and friend Seryna Goldner has known Glitsky since they were 5 and 4, respectively, and though they don’t twirl together anymore, they both grew from the hard coaching experience.

“I think that the problems with the coach definitely made her want to get out and do better for herself, which she definitely has,” Goldner said. “I think for other people, they probably would have just quit and gave up, but she definitely didn’t. She took it and used that as an opportunity to get better.”

Her mindset wasn’t always as clear as it is now, but Glitsky realized that she had to stop worrying about everyone else.

“I used to get in my head really bad. I [would] care too much about everyone else, but I guess I realized that it doesn’t help. I don’t know. I need to do it for myself,” Glitsky said.

Glitsky, with her batons, has no plans to give up twirling anytime soon. She sees coaching in her future, and if she’s lucky, more performing.

“I’d love to join the circus. Don’t mean that as a joke,” Glitsky said. “Seriously, if I can join the circus at 30, I’ll join the circus at 30.”

Naomi Girson can be reached at girsonn@duq.edu