High School School Tryouts

[Ren]

*Apologies... I "thought" I posted that link of top-ten items correctly. Apparently not... I'll have my Fierce Board tutorial now on how to post links...

As far as I'm aware, if it's a website link rather than a picture/video, you can literally just copy and paste the link into where you type... Maybe the link didn't copy?

 

[KDCheerMom]

I can completely understand how it can be stressful for the coaches! Our coaches have no say in who makes the 3 squads. They hire outside judges from an external company.

It's going to be rough for the coaches this year since there are about 7 girls who were on the squads last year that didn't make either JV or Varsity. Some of the parents of those girls have already requested to compare their daughter's scores to my daughter's scores. I am very sad for these girls and their parents - we couldn't really celebrate my daughter making Varsity because so many of her teammates didn't make it. :(

how terrible for your daughter...how terrible that that is even somehow made public.

 

[cheermommaRN]

I hate that schools in Texas do their tryouts that way. There is a specific score cutoff and they take the top however many for Varsity and then the next # for JV. No consideration of how hard a kid worked the year before, or if they were a big contributor. :(

 

[gymcatmomx2]

I hate that schools in Texas do their tryouts that way. There is a specific score cutoff and they take the top however many for Varsity and then the next # for JV. No consideration of how hard a kid worked the year before, or if they were a big contributor. :(

I agree with you 100%! The drama of tryouts is STILL going on! The parents of the girls that didn't make either squads have hired an attorney and started a petition to force the administration to go with the next natural break.

They contend that the administrators did not go with the natural break as outlined in the constitution and only took the top 20 for Varsity. I am not sure how all of this is going to play out. I feel for these girls and their parents, I really do. However, when one girl scores a full 8 points below one that made the team, I don't see how that would be considered fair.

Cheerleading is very competitive at our school even though the squads don't compete, so it's a true honor to make a squad. But each girl has to continue to work and improve their skills - they can't rest on their laurels and expect to make it just because they have in previous years. Every year there is at least one incoming Senior that has been on a squad the previous 3 years, that doesn't make it.

I hope they resolve this quickly so we can move on and get ready for spring football and cheer camp.

 

[Dixie]

I'm in Texas and we can get our scores from the Principal. But, in our district you are placed by age also. JV is for Sophomores and Varsity is only Juniors and Seniors. What? We still have Freshman athletes on Varsity football, basketball, baseball . . . Why can't strong Freshman cheerleaders make Varsity. Drill team here we come!


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[gymcatmomx2]

I'm in Texas and we can get our scores from the Principal. But, in our district you are placed by age also. JV is for Sophomores and Varsity is only Juniors and Seniors. What? We still have Freshman athletes on Varsity football, basketball, baseball . . . Why can't strong Freshman cheerleaders make Varsity. Drill team here we come!


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That is exactly how it is at my CP's high school. Freshman can only make the Freshman squad and sophomores can only make JV, juniors can make both JV or Varsity depending on their score and Seniors can only make Varsity. I agree with you that if a freshman has the score to make Varsity then she should be on Varsity. At our school though there is a serious pecking order that is ingrained into the tradition. Varsity gets all the perks and seniors on Varsity even more so.

 

[Dixie]

That is exactly how it is at my CP's high school. Freshman can only make the Freshman squad and sophomores can only make JV, juniors can make both JV or Varsity depending on their score and Seniors can only make Varsity. I agree with you that if a freshman has the score to make Varsity then she should be on Varsity. At our school though there is a serious pecking order that is ingrained into the tradition. Varsity gets all the perks and seniors on Varsity even more so.

Are our kids at the same school? Except our juniors can only be on Varsity. That's why this year we had 15 girls tryout for 15 spots with 6 current cheerleaders choosing not to tryout. We don't do all that drama!


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[gymcatmomx2]

Are our kids at the same school? Except our juniors can only be on Varsity. That's why this year we had 15 girls tryout for 15 spots with 6 current cheerleaders choosing not to tryout. We don't do all that drama!


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No drama would be nice! :). We had 34 girls tryout for Varsity this year, 15 incoming seniors and 5 incoming juniors made it. There were 2 juniors that made JV, the rest of the squad of 16 were sophomores. If an incoming junior doesn't make Varsity but their scores are high enough to make JV they have to accept the placement. If they decline the offer, they forfeit their right to tryout their senior year. This goes for all squads - if they are placed on a squad and quit they have to wait a year before trying out again.

 

[cheernerd5678]

No drama would be nice! :). We had 34 girls tryout for Varsity this year, 15 incoming seniors and 5 incoming juniors made it. There were 2 juniors that made JV, the rest of the squad of 16 were sophomores. If an incoming junior doesn't make Varsity but their scores are high enough to make JV they have to accept the placement. If they decline the offer, they forfeit their right to tryout their senior year. This goes for all squads - if they are placed on a squad and quit they have to wait a year before trying out again.

We have that rule too, except it's if you quit you can't try out for HS again... even if you wait a year. But we don't have the age rules and I love that... I feel like it makes better squads if you put all the best girls together regardless of age. IMHO, It doesn't help to have a freshman with a standing tuck cheering JV and a junior with no tumbling whatsoever cheering Varsity. You can make any squad at any age, except I think maybe seniors make either Varsity or nothing... I've never seen a senior on JV but it's only my 2nd year, so that may just be a coincidence. But seniors don't necessarily make comp, we had senior alternates last year and this year (they still cheer games though)

 

[gymcatmomx2]

I agree with you 100%! The drama of tryouts is STILL going on! The parents of the girls that didn't make either squads have hired an attorney and started a petition to force the administration to go with the next natural break.

They contend that the administrators did not go with the natural break as outlined in the constitution and only took the top 20 for Varsity. I am not sure how all of this is going to play out. I feel for these girls and their parents, I really do. However, when one girl scores a full 8 points below one that made the team, I don't see how that would be considered fair.

Cheerleading is very competitive at our school even though the squads don't compete, so it's a true honor to make a squad. But each girl has to continue to work and improve their skills - they can't rest on their laurels and expect to make it just because they have in previous years. Every year there is at least one incoming Senior that has been on a squad the previous 3 years, that doesn't make it.

I hope they resolve this quickly so we can move on and get ready for spring football and cheer camp.

I want to vent about this tryout mess. There are approximately 7 parents who have filed formal grievances with the high school stating that the cheer constitution wasn't followed alleging that they didn't use the "natural break" that they went with the top 20 scores. They each have met with the principle and voiced their concerns. In their meetings these parents were provided a copy of the scores of every girl that tried out for Varsity. It does not list the names just the candidates tryout number and their total scores.

I asked one of the moms, who I thought was a friend, if I could get a copy of it. She responded that she "didn't feel it was her's to share". Now mind you, she asked me to request a copy of my daughter's scores which I graciously provided to her yet she won't provide a copy of the score sheet that was provided to the parents of the girls that have filed grievances. Some of these parents have shared these scores to parents from the OTHER high schools in our district!

Needless to say I was hurt and very angry and can't understand what all the secrecy is about. If one person has access to this information, then it should be available to all. Knowledge is power. I wanted to level the playing field so I requested a copy of the scores myself. i am picking it up later this morning and will provide a copy to any parent that wants it.

The administration is suppose to make a decision by the end of this week whether they will place these girls on the squad. I am anxious to see if they give into these parents' demands.

 

[Sarapaige]

Ugh! I love high school cheer but I hate the tryouts! You stress to make your tumbling/jumps and everything perfect! The worst part about my tryouts are that I have to wait until the next day to find out if I made it!

 

[chastity]

I know exactly how you feel! My oldest CP is trying out for Varsity. There are 34 girls vying for 20 spots. We won't know the results until around 9:30 tonight. It's going to be a long night.

im trying out this year, im a freshman and nervous. im extremely scared that i will get cut. i have high jumps, im somewhat flexible and have been taking tumbling classes since the beginning of february. any advice for tryouts?

 

[JoFTZEW21]

My tryouts start tomorrow and are all week. I find out Friday. The only thing i'm not looking forward to is that it starts the first day back from spring break

 

[gymcatmomx2]

im trying out this year, im a freshman and nervous. im extremely scared that i will get cut. i have high jumps, im somewhat flexible and have been taking tumbling classes since the beginning of february. any advice for tryouts?

I received my daughter's score sheets from all 3 of the judges. She had one of the highest scores out of the 34 girls that tried out for Varsity. My unqualified advice:

1. Practice your spiriting! I am not kidding. You will feel silly spiriting in an empty gym with 3 adults looking at you. The more you practice the more comfortable you will be. Be loud and peppy!
2. Always have a smile on your face to show that you love what you are doing.
3. Make sure your toes are pointed in all your jumps.
4. Really, really get into the dance and smile the entire time.
5. Make sure that your motions are super sharp. My daughter has been told by a few of the cheerleaders that her motions are too sharp. Well, guess what ....one of the comments from 2 of the judges was that she needed to be sharper. On a 5 point scale, she received 3.5, 4, and a 4.5.

I wish you the best of luck! Let us know how it went.

 

[gymcatmomx2]

I agree with you 100%! The drama of tryouts is STILL going on! The parents of the girls that didn't make either squads have hired an attorney and started a petition to force the administration to go with the next natural break.

They contend that the administrators did not go with the natural break as outlined in the constitution and only took the top 20 for Varsity. I am not sure how all of this is going to play out. I feel for these girls and their parents, I really do. However, when one girl scores a full 8 points below one that made the team, I don't see how that would be considered fair.

Cheerleading is very competitive at our school even though the squads don't compete, so it's a true honor to make a squad. But each girl has to continue to work and improve their skills - they can't rest on their laurels and expect to make it just because they have in previous years. Every year there is at least one incoming Senior that has been on a squad the previous 3 years, that doesn't make it.

I hope they resolve this quickly so we can move on and get ready for spring football and cheer camp.

Update: the school administration announced the decision today that they are putting the 10 girls that didn't make Varsity on the squad. It went from 20 to 30 girls... And we are only a 4 a school! Even schools that are 3 times our size only have a maximum of 28 on Varsity. I have mixed feelings about this decision. On one hand, I am very happy for the girls who weren't originally placed on the squad. On the other hand, it diminishes the accomplishment of the 20 girls who legitimately made it. Needless to say my CP has mixed emotions as well.

I hope they change the cheer constitution for next year. Both of my daughters will be trying out next year and I don't need anymore cheer drama then there already is.