Virtual Tryouts

Though a pandemic has put much of what we hoped the spring would look like at SBS on hold, for the SBS Spirit programs, this has not entirely been the case. Varsity cheerleaders, JV cheerleaders, Golden Girls and Middle School Spirit all underwent virtual tryouts over the past few months. 

According to Golden Girls Coach Madelyn Whitehead, “A virtual tryout was definitely not Plan A, but through several conversations with school administration and lots of prayer, we ultimately decided it was the best way to confidently prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. Both our cheer and dance teams hit the ground running in August, therefore, we need the summer months to train, order uniforms and prepare for the upcoming school year.”

Over 60 young women took part in the new and unprecedented virtual tryout process. All three tryouts included interview questions and multiple videos of choreography and skills. Varsity Cheer Coach Andrea Spence stated, “Though challenging, we did our best to encourage the candidates to simply do their best. We were well aware that making preparations for a tryout within the confines of their own homes was far from ideal. But, in the end, I was overwhelmingly impressed with the tryouts each candidate submitted.”

Candidates were also given the opportunity to engage in virtual clinics over Zoom. “Having tryouts virtually made it challenging by not being able to learn the dances in person, but the senior Golden Girls were very helpful and answered all of my questions through Zoom calls,” said 2020-2021 Golden Girl Virginia Young ‘23.

Varsity cheerleader Nina Robert ‘22 pointed out the bright-side of the virtual tryout process, “I was mostly excited because I could take my time and use multiple tries to get the video how I wanted it. While tryouts were different, they were definitely better than I expected and I’m grateful that I was able to put my best videos forward!”

Upon submission of each “tryout,” videos were sent to panels of professional judges who scored each candidate.

Young closed saying, “I think no matter how you tryout, it is still a very nerve-racking experience. Overall, I think the tryout process was well thought out, and it went better than I expected!”

Congratulations to the newest SBS cheerleaders, Golden Girls and Middle School Spirit members!