As the 2022-2023 cheer season ends, new opportunities come to life, and tryout season approaches. Follow these tips and tricks to bring those cheer dreams to life!

On Feb. 28 coaches will release tryout material and tryout clinics happen March 6-8. Tryout day takes place on March 9 and the results will be posted the day after tryouts. For those that make the teams, after-school practices begin in April.

Cheerleading takes a large amount of time and dedication.  Having a good relationship with teachers and peers proves helpful considering teacher recommendations take up 50% of tryout scores. Cheerleaders are involved not only in the school but also in the community so having a good reputation outside of school helps. 

“You can prepare for tryouts by making sure you’re passing all your classes, building relationships with your teachers, taking advantage of Cheer Texas clinics, asking and talking to other cheerleaders or talking to me or Coach Olguin,” Coach Grecia Zamora said.

Sandie cheer teams are split up into three groups; Freshman, JV (junior varsity) and Varsity. All incoming freshmen get put onto the freshmen team after tryouts while sophomores end up on JV and juniors and seniors usually make it to the varsity squad.

“Typically my JV team is made up of sophomores, but we always have a couple of juniors on the team,” Zamora said.

Becoming a cheerleader comes along with a whole new set of rules and expectations such as the way one speaks, dresses, attends school, does school work and spends time with friends.  

“I want good leaders that represent Amarillo High well; kind, polite girls or boys,” Zamora said. “I want someone who is proud to be a Sandie, and who is willing to commit because being a cheerleader is like a full-time job where you don’t get paid.”

Some helpful ways to become as prepared as possible for the upcoming tryouts include: stretching, tumbling classes, practicing motion, practicing spiriting and talking to current cheerleaders or coaches. Ultimately, the experience should be fun and natural, not scary or forced. Practicing the material when released, smiling big, vocal projection and having confidence are what the judges look for when creating the cheer team.

“Give it your all, make sure this is something you want to do and not something you think you want to do because it really is a lot and has a positive spirit,” Zamora said.