The Air Academy High School(AAHS) Cheerleading tryouts have finally commenced. Tryouts consisted of a mandatory tryout clinic starting on April 23-25,2024 and the final tryout date on April 26,2024 all hosted in the middle gym of AAHS.  The 2024-2025 AAHS Cheer team is met with two new cheer coaches, head coach Rachel Cullen and assistant coach Bailey Hollingsworth.  While the new team has a few past returners the team is truly rebuilding itself from scratch.

Tryouts this year are following a different standard than the past years. Past tryouts while also holding a mandatory clinic have been truly only focused on the physical skills that are brought to the table. Tryouts in the past have been evaluated on your ability to cheer, dance, jump, and tumble which concluded in a point system which was totaled at the end of the tryout.

“This will be my second year trying out for the team and he new standards focused on character I hope will help prevents the drama problems that have been involved with the team in the past,”  freshman Maddie Aguayo explained.

This year AAHS cheer is taking a full turn in how the program in itself is going to be run. Now while at tryouts you will still be scored on your physical performance and skills, you will also be scored on your character alongside your abilities as a student.

“The drama throughout the time I have been on the team has taken a tole on the potential the team can reach. I hope with the change in coaches and tryout score sheet we will be able to achieve program we want to have,” junior Campbell Huskisson stated.

The past teams have had various amounts of drama involved within the program. The goal for this year and years to come is to change the whole dynamic of how coaches and athletes interact along with the kinds of people we want to represent the team as a whole. 

The new additions to the tryout system include the following: an athlete coach interview, grade check, and a strength/flexibility test. The few changes to the score sheet hope to guide tryouts in a way to be geared towards the athletes program.  

Coach Cullen’s main focus is building a team that will be successful not only in competition but as individual athletes an people. When doing a coach interview they are able to immediately gain an idea of the person you are. Preventing drama within the team is crucially to building the culture and relationships with the girl on the team.

“This is my second year on the team and I cannot be more excited in going to my senior year with positive support from our coaches and teammates,” junior Elaina McGee.

Tryouts ended with 17 girls on varsity and 7 on junior varsity. No matter the team an athlete was placed on they will be fully supported and pushed to do there best for this upcoming season. Varsity will be the only team competing this year.

Varsity and JV will be separated only by the games they cheer at and for practices that are separated for varsity to work on the competition routine. The girl will be focusing on unity to bring together both teams in order to ensure positive and inclusive culture to all.