If you checked out a basketball or football home game this year, you might have been surprised to see one of the newer additions to the sidelines: cheerleaders.
The squad has been existed for two years and is holding tryouts on April 29 and April 30, 2006, for its third season. Currently, it is made up of 16 members, including two men. They cheer at home games for basketball and football but are also working on becoming a competitive squad. Practices are held four hours a week, but occasionally go up to six hours when a big day is coming up.
By Meredith Ponczak,
Staff Writer
If you checked out a basketball or football home game this year, you might have been surprised to see one of the newer additions to the sidelines: cheerleaders.
The squad has been existed for two years and is holding tryouts on April 29 and April 30, 2006, for its third season. Currently, it is made up of 16 members, including two men. They cheer at home games for basketball and football but are also working on becoming a competitive squad. Practices are held four hours a week, but occasionally go up to six hours when a big day is coming up.
Dedication, enthusiasm, and being able to fulfill the commitment to both football and basketball seasons are a must for any cheerleader. Being a captain, co-captain, or spirit leader requires more.
Any of those three positions requires at least one year on the squad; a request must be submitted, and the coaches decide who fits the position best. Those who fill these positions are required to be at all practices and games, be in charge of equipment, and call the other team members to let them know of a practice.
Captain Maren Masur said, �It’s a lot of responsibility.�
Tryouts are open to anyone, but coach Amy Blackburn-Vint is looking for new cheerleaders with a higher skill level and more gymnastics skill so the squad can work on becoming more competitive. Masur, a sophomore, concurred, saying she would like to see the new squad members �have cheerleading experience.�
Co-captain Lauren Bradley, a sophomore, said she would like to see �new faces, new energy� and a commitment to the squad.
With that experience comes the ability to do more stunts. Melissa White is the coach in charge of stunts, which are necessary to be competitive. Blackburn-Vint said she has �brought our team to new heights – literally. She’s very skilled.�
Cheer camp is held every August for three days at Seton Hill before school starts to increase the squad’s repertoire. Instructors who work on new skills with the squad are brought in from out of town. NCAA rules say nothing about cheerleading, so nothing will have to be changed since Seton Hill joined the NCAA this year.
For tryouts this year, April 29, will be an instruction day in the McKenna Center from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. April 30 will be the actual tryout day, with judges brought in from out of town for impartiality. No position is guaranteed: all current squad members must tryout again. There has been a good deal of interest from incoming freshmen, and most of them come with some experience.
Blackburn-Vint is excited about where the team is going and added, �We would love to have some more guys join the team.�
To view all articles by this writer Click here.