Peninsula Cheer Team Holds Online Tryouts
Due to the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the ongoing school closure, all Peninsula dance, cheer and spirit teams have had to cancel their in-person tryouts that typically take place in the spring. They have had to come up with an alternative way to conduct their team selection for the upcoming season. The cheer team decided to proceed with an online video tryout that can be completed while still complying with the current stay-at-home order and self-quarantine suggestions by the government. With this process, the cheer team has already begun their tryouts for next year, while all dance teams will hold their tryouts at a later time.
Those who are trying out for the cheer team must submit a video of them performing a routine with the following criteria. The video must include a choreographed, one-minute dance and three cheers that were previously taught to the girls during a preparatory boot camp for tryouts. The video submission also incorporates four different jumps that consist of a toe touch, a right and left hurdler and a herkie, which is when one of your legs is bent towards the ground and your other leg is out to the side. The team predicts that this new, digital form of tryouts will lead to many challenges, as this setup is different from anything the team has done before.
Sophomore Elizabeth Grau is glad the cheer team is staying safe and promoting social distancing. However, she believes a video submission is not the best way to judge applicants’ abilities and how he or she would react under pressure. Grau thinks that the team should wait to conduct tryouts in person.
“The challenge of trying out via video submission is that you cannot see how stunt groups work together,” Grau said. “At normal tryouts, we are able to get into stunt groups and get a feel for what it is like stunting [with other cheerleaders], but there is no way to do that with a video of only yourself.”
Cheer is about stunting and executing a variety of dances and cheers, and a majority of these aspects require a group effort. Thus, Grau feels that having an online tryout may make it difficult to see how each person works with one another, but there are also some advantages to the new format.
“The good part about [such videos] is that an applicant can redo the video as many times as he or she wants and make it look perfect,” Grau said. “There are also less nerves that you have to deal with because there is no one judging you upfront.”
Once submitted, the tryout videos for cheer will be sent to five judges: a Laker Girl, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader that previously coached for over 25 years, a professional dancer and choreographer, a prior coach in cheer and fitness and a former Peninsula cheerleader that is now a college graduate. Head cheer coach Kim Stoneman set up a score sheet specifically to judge technique, placement and strength while looking at the energy and spirit put into the material. Stoneman was able to see everyone’s capabilities during the previous mandatory boot camp the girls trying out had attended on Feb. 27.
“I am thankful for the time I got to see the applicants [at the boot camp] because I got an idea of who they were as well as their personality and energy, but the judges, [on the other hand], do not know them,” Stoneman said. “Thus, the job for the applicant is to let the judges know who they are through the video, so it is very important that they are doing their best [as dancers] and showing their best selves.”
Stoneman feels lucky to be able to see how everyone interacted with each other at the boot camp. She is using her prior time with the team to help make her decisions.
“Once I get back the score sheets from all of the judges, I tally up the score for each candidate and use that to help me set the varsity team,” Stoneman said. “As I begin to look at the videos, I have enjoyed seeing everyone step up and represent who they want to be as a part of Peninsula cheer [next year].”
Knowing the criteria of the video submission, applicants like sophomore Kira Stephenson have to adjust their strategy. Stephenson’s main position is a flyer, so stunting is a large part of the skills she wants to show at tryouts. Although she cannot display her flying skills in her video submission, she agrees that the online tryout is a necessary step to take in order to comply with state orders.
“I think submitting a video, while it is limiting, is a smart idea because it allows us to continue with cheer tryouts and not let the quarantine substantially affect our upcoming season,” Stephenson said.
Although an online tryout has its advantages and disadvantages, the cheer team is putting the bigger picture into perspective and recognizing the importance of keeping everyone safe. The girls and their coach understand the precautions they must take and are nevertheless excited for what the next season will bring.
