Cheer tryouts are coming up for the Duncan Middle School cheer team this Friday.
The tryouts begin at 4 p.m. and will be available for incoming seventh and eighth-graders. The team cheers for other sports teams, including football and basketball during their season.
Bella Reyes and Ruby Miller are two seventh-graders trying out for next year’s cheer squad. Both are currently cheerleaders for DMS.
Although they made the team last year, they have to tryout yearly just to ensure that they made the team and are still capable of cheering for DMS.
Reyes and Miller said they are nervous for tryouts. Being close friends, both are hopeful they can make the cheer team together.
“We have experience so now,” Miller said. “All that we can do is practice, pray, give it our all and do our secret handshake.”
To try out the girls will dance and cheer to an upbeat song. The song will be a mash up of multiple different songs.
The girls said they are more confident because of past experience of doing cheer last year and working with the coaches. They think that last season prepared everyone well for tryouts.
“Doing cheer last year has really helped me improve by showing me what to work on to be cleaner and louder during cheers and stunts,’ Reyes said.
Miller said being on the team this year has also been beneficially in getting her ready for tryouts.
“Being on the team this year taught me that perseverance and kindness are the keys to getting on the team and also having good relationships with the teammates and respecting the coaches,” she said. “Cheer has some drama but most of the time we resolve it and become a stronger team emotionally, because to have a good performance we all have to be in sync not only physically, but emotionally as well.”
