Jenna Waller got cut.
It happened in 2024. She was standing there. The last one standing, actually. Before they told her no. Her reaction wasn’t devastation. It wasn’t panic. It was simple. I’m coming back.
If you watched Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts, you saw the heartbreak. The blood, the sweat, the tears on the football turf. Last season dropped, showing her second chance. Spoiler. She made it. The coveted blue blazer? She earned it. “Being a comeback girl is special,” she says. Different dancer now. Stronger.
“I feel like I came back to change.”
Jenna spoke to Women’s Health recently. She wants to talk fitness. Specifically. How strength changed her fate.
The Weakness
Her first audition had flaws. Sharp arm movements. Leg kicks. She missed the mark. The feedback was blunt. She lacked power. So she built it.
Jenna hates gyms. Seriously. Pilates. Dance class. That’s her life. Gyms aren’t. Enter Hadyn Jennings. Best friend. Fellow hopeful. Gym rat. Hadyn taught her the ropes. Because Jenna didn’t know them.
“You’re a dancer. You don’t have time to figure this out alone.”
Having a buddy matters. Jenna stuck to the routine. For a year. Daily grind.
The Grind
She went hard. Two leg days. Two upper body. Dance classes three times a week. StairMaster warmed her up. 10 to 15 min minimum.
Arms first.
Dancers live with their arms. Big gestures on the field need massive strength. Dumbbell rows. Curls. Chest presses. But lat pulldowns were key.
“Back and arms for pom motions. Arms were my weakest.”
Then the legs. Quads. Hamstrings. She even held oversplits for 90 seconds. Each position. Right, left, center. Past 180 degrees. Flexibility isn’t just for stretching anymore. It’s structural.
Did it work?
Teachers noticed. “You look powerful,” they said.
Something is working.
The Head Game
Strength wasn’t the only issue.
Being cut when you’re this close? It wrecks your head. Jenna was too anxious. Dazed. Eyes glazed. Trapped in fear. You can’t dance your best when you’re terrified.
She got a sports psychologist. Smart move.
Then injury hit. Sprained ankle. Kickline practice. Out for four weeks. Painful? Yes. But sitting still forced her to feel something. Love. For the dance. The fear didn’t matter as much when you’re missing it that badly.
A month before tryouts she returned. Different mindset.
Confidence changed her dance. The girls who make it don’t doubt. They know. Jenna learned to know.
“They dance with conviction.”
That was missing last year. Present this year.
Now. Year two. No more rookie panic. No more thinking about yard lines. No more overthinking every move. Just dancing. Present. Heart on the field.
It’s freedom, finally.
