De Soto High School cheer tryouts for the upcoming school year take place on March 24, following two clinic days on March 22-23.

Clinic days are spent preparing for the real tryouts. Cheerleaders learn a new cheer, chant,  jumps and a dance. The second clinic day is spent reviewing all the material and a mock tryout is held. Sophomore cheerleader Zekkiah Hird says the process is lengthy, stretching over the course of three days, each day lasting a few hours.

“In my opinion, it’s pretty dreadful. Tryout day is very nerve racking. Everyone is nervous and excited,” Hird said.

Participants are given numbers and called in to tryout in groups of three in front of the judges.

“You tryout and showcase the material you learned in just two days in front of randomly selected judges that nobody knows and you do your best,” Hird said.

Next year, coaches want to have a smaller team. For returning cheerleaders like  sophomore Aylin Rocha, this makes tryouts more nerve racking than other years.

“I’m nervous of the possibility of not making the cut. I’m pretty confident, though, in the sense that I’ll be a returner, so I have a higher chance of continuing to stay on the team,” Rocha said.

For those trying out for the first time, Hird and Rocha both said that one of the most important things judges look for is confidence no matter what happens.

“If you’re trying out and you mess up, you shouldn’t stop everything and be embarrassed. The most important thing is that you keep going and keep your smile,” Hird said.

The list of who made the cut will be released shortly after tryouts have concluded.

“After the list is posted and you see all the names of people who made it, it’s either the best feeling in the world or the worst,” Hird said.

The team released the results of tryouts on March 24 with the 2017-18 team.