Cheer we go!

Leyden will start 7th grade in August (I still can't believe that!) and instead of being on the Termite and Peewee cheerleading squad where everybody gets to cheer that wants to cheer, she will have to try out for the Junior Varsity cheerleading squad. I went to a parents meeting last night, and OHMYGOSH I am a nervous wreck!

I had to order a try out uniform last night and I brought home a folder full of information and forms to fill out. There is a four-day clinic where the girls learn the routine, cheers, and jumps that they will use to try out. The clinic starts Sunday, February 8th at 3:00 pm and continues until Thursday, when they have mock tryouts. The real deal tryouts are next Friday, February 13th at 4:00 pm. They will be judged on a "break system," which means that the girls above the "break" will make the team, and those below the "break" will not. A break is when there is a vast difference in points. Most of their points come from outside judges, but a small percentage of their points from teacher recommendations and the cheer coaches.

If she makes the team, the uniforms, accessories, shoes, poms, etc. will cost $900+ and she will have to sell $300 in sports program ads. Then we'll have to pay for the beach retreat, a spirit day outfit for camp, and who knows what else. (There is a fundraiser available: Leyden can sell ads for the Skycam at the school, and some folks have actually paid for everything that way.) The practice schedule is odd, because the cheer coach has a job and has to work around her work schedule, and they will practice a LOT.

My stomach was in knots as I sat through that meeting, and I actually commented to a couple of other moms that I might go home and give Leyden this proposal: if she doesn't try out for the JV cheerleading squad, I will take her to the beach for a week. It would probably be cheaper in the long run, and it would definitely be less stressful! I'm nervous already and tryouts haven't even started. I'm worried about how Leyden will take it if she doesn't make the squad. She has been a cheerleader since 3rd grade, and it's the one thing that she LOVES. She liked ice skating, karate was fun, softball is neat, but cheering is LIFE!

So, your prayers are appreciated next week during clinic and especially on tryout day. Not just for Leyden, but for me too, that we'll survive the drama and the tension. And I'll let you know how things turn out!

Cheer we go!