The varsity cheerleading team is ramping up the intensity for the winter season with larger emphasis on performance in competitions.
According to coach Heather Brabo, many other girls dropped out before the last day of tryouts after underestimating the intensity of the team.
On the last day of tryouts, judges scored the girls to determine who would make the team.
“It’s up to the talent,”

Brabo said. “The talent is going to drive the scores.”
Junior Katie Nichols, a second year varsity cheerleader, said that some new girls who tried out were not prepared for the difficulty of this year’s tryouts, which she said were tougher than in previous years.
Eight girls were cut from the squad after tryouts this year, which is more than were cut in previous years.
Some inexperienced girls who tried out were put on the JV squad to learn the routines, whereas they would have made varsity in other years, according to Nichols.
The increased intensity is a result of new priorities for the team as they will be focusing more on cheer competitions than on cheering at basketball games.
“The competition team is definitely way more intense than it was last year because we are competing in several different divisions [at competitions],” Brabo said.
The varsity squad will be competing in more competitions this year, making it more important for the girls to have experience with the routines.
“It’s important that we have a stable varsity group because those are the people in competitions,” Nichols said.