Junior High Cheer Tryouts

With Kaitlynn's growing love for tumbling and competition cheer, our plates have been overly full in the past year. We have really enjoyed watching her get stronger and more confident in her craft, and we've had several conversations about what might come next for her as she moved into junior high. As much as we admire Kaitlynn's desire to participate in EVERYTHING - tumbling, competition cheer, basketball, theater, volleyball, student council, and junior high cheer - she simply can't do it all. Or should I say, WE simply can't handle it all!! Poor Jeff has done the lion's share of the carpooling lately, and boy, does it get old fast!

As we approached the spring season of cheer and sports, Kaitlynn began expressing an interest in trying out for her school's junior high cheer squad. She wasn't fully certain about what to expect, but we encouraged her to give it a try. Ever the pragmatist, I also cautioned her that there was a lot of competition and that we needed to manage her expectations. She agreed that it would be a good experience for her to try out for the team, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. She had plenty of other options for activities if school cheer didn't pan out.

The first step for her junior high school cheer tryouts was to make sure she had an up-to-date medical evaluation, so off to the pediatrician we went. From there, we had to fill out about 237 online forms with signatures - everything from morality clauses to athletic participation waivers. Goodness, there sure is a lot of liability these days to make it as a cheerleader!

When the week of tryouts arrived, Kaitlynn participated in a daily tryout camp with the rest of the cheer candidates. They all stayed after school each day to learn various cheers, jumps, and and a dance routine to be performed in front of judges when the actual tryout arrived the following weekend. I was on the road for my final week of work travel, but Jeff was on duty for carpooling and extra cheer lessons that Kaitlynn had on tap for the hectic week. 

As it turned out, the first day of tryout camp was a super tough day for Kaitlynn. She ended up in tears several times due to the fast pace of the skills learned along with the natural pressure that the girls feel amidst the tryout process. Jeff and I did our best to lift her spirits and encourage her to stick with it, and thankfully, things improved throughout the week. Along with the normal chaos of both kids' sports and activities, Jeff managed to coach Kaitlynn each night after practice from home. From stretching to jumps and spiriting, Coach Dad was just what Kaitlynn needed to polish her skills and prepare for the big tryout.

On the day of the school cheer tryouts, I was back home and ready to support my girl on her big day. We were told to arrive at one of the local high schools and wait in the parking lot for the scheduled timeslot. Kaitlynn seemed pretty calm but I definitely think she was feeling some nerves about the process. She told me that she had low expectations about making the squad and that she would be OK either way. When the time arrived, she joined her group and went inside the gym for the short tryout. It consisted of a quick performance with a cheer, dance, and 2 jumps - all learned that week from the tryout camp. 

Before I knew it, Kaitlynn's tryout was over and she was back in the car with her tryout number labeled on her leg. She seemed happy and probably a bit relieved. I asked her 500 questions about the process and she told me that she felt good about her performance. Of course, we had no way of knowing her chances but we were just proud of her for pushing through the tough week and going outside of her comfort zone with the entire experience. 

A few hours later, the cheer team results were posted online. It took us a few moments to figure out the outcome using Kaitlynn's tryout number. We were waiting in line at a restaurant as we studied the list of numbers...

To our surprise and delight, we realized that we now had a junior high cheerleader in our midst! Kaitlynn didn't seem to know how to react right away, but a huge smile spread across her face as soon as the news began to settle in. She was so happy and excited! 

To be honest, Jeff may have been more excited than Kaitlynn. After all, this made 3 out of 3 of his kids' sports tryouts that he had been actively coaching them through in the past several months. Not a bad record for Coach Dad! We were so happy for Kaitlynn and proud of her hard work and success, and we are looking forward to a fun year of cheer ahead!