Tryout season is always stressful, but it can also be a relief when it is over. In April, the Lewis Cass cheerleading team held tryouts for anyone who was interested. More than 100 girls altogether tried out. Many emotions were happening at the same time, but it all went great! Lots of material was learned for everyone to try out with.
The coaches had high school girls try out with a cheer, chant, dance, and jump, while middle school students tried out with a cheer, chant, and a jump. Before the actual tryout day, was a clinic. This clinic was for everyone trying out, to come and go through each thing step by step. At the clinic, girls learned all the material, as well as the counts for our jumps. We also learned how to make the motions sharper and how to make jumps look nicer. Sophomore cheerleader, Raegan Mundy, said, “Before tryouts, there is a “clinic” where we learn the cheer, chant, and dance and I think that helps all the girls a lot. It’s beneficial to have someone be able to tell you if you’re doing something correctly or incorrectly so you can fix it before the tryout!” That was a great way to prepare for tryouts.
On try-out day, everyone who tries out has a scheduled time that tries out. This year, some girls performed with a group, but others performed individually. For tryouts, we were to dress in Lewis Cass gear, with shorts and tennis shoes. Everyone looked very organized and prepared to show the judges their enthusiasm and what they had learned! When asked, sophomore cheerleader, Raegan Mundy, how tryouts went for her. She said, “Tryouts went well! They are always a little nerve-wracking, but in the end, it’s never as bad as you think it will be. I think that the tryout process is very well organized and it’s helpful that the coaches are organized.” sophomore cheerleader, Brookelynn Biddle, had this to say about her preparations for tryouts, “The day of tryouts, I just treated it like no other day. When it was time for tryouts I was definitely nervous, but I knew that these coaches are comfortable to be around. Knowing that I had someone to tell me that it’s okay to mess up helped me a lot for tryouts. I knew that if I just took some deep breaths everything would be okay. I went in there with a big smile on my face and a positive attitude. Everything went well in the end!” It is always great to have a positive mindset and a positive attitude when it comes to fearful situations like tryouts.
This year, six seniors tried out. It saddens the coaches and the senior’s cheer friends knowing that this was their last year of trying out for varsity cheer. Senior cheerleader, Kaitlyn Benner, had this to say, “Cheer has impacted my life in a positive way. Cheer has been so fun for the past few years that I have been doing cheer. I have made so many new friendships! Knowing that this is my last year being able to try out for cheer was really sad.”
In the end, at this year’s tryouts, there was a twist. When the results were out, everyone ended up making the team. Altogether, 27 girls made the team. eleven girls made varsity, nine girls made JV, and six girls made an alternate JV team. Overall, tryouts can be scary, but you just have to show the coaches/judges what you are capable of. Do your best by putting on a show and show the enthusiasm that you have in you.
