Cheerleading tryouts to be held this weekend

Students interested in cheering for the Augustana football team next fall will try out on May 8, in front of a new head coach.

The Augustana athletic department is currently in the process of interviewing applicants. The previous cheer coach and dance adviser, Sally Sheley, announced she will not be returning to the squad next season.

Jeff Holm, the assistant athletic director who heads the hiring process, said the department's goal is to have a new coach on-staff in time for tryouts. This would give the coach the ability to structure the tryouts to his/her liking and to observe the current skill levels of the individuals trying out, both newcomers and cheerleaders hoping to return to the squad.

''We certainly will have something in place by then,'' Holm said. ''We want the new leadership to have input in the tryouts.''

The new coach will be responsible for advising the football and basketball cheer squads. If he/she has the correct qualifications, the athletic department might hire him/her as the dance team's coach as well, Holm said. If not, the department may hire two separate people.

So far the athletic department has conversed informally with two potential coaches. Candidates are still being accepted for the position, so an unfixed amount of interviews will be taking place in the next few weeks.

Sheley is resigning because she graduates from Augustana this year with a degree in nursing.

''I will begin my job this summer as a nurse, and with the random nursing hours every other weekend, I would not be able to commit the time to either of the teams, which is not fair,'' Sheley said.

Tryouts for next fall are open to any Augustana student, male or female, from highly experienced to newcomers. The students selected this spring will cheer solely for the football season. The new coach will schedule another tryout in fall 2010 for students interested in cheerleading for basketball.

 Last year, there was only one tryout,and the individuals selected were obligated to cheer for both sports, from August to March. The change from one tryout to two allows cheerleaders to be selective about what season they want to participate in and how much time they want to invest in cheering

Although the cheer squad aims to keep its numbers at approximately 16, the coach and captains find it easier to build a successful team when more students attend tryouts.

''I think because we're doing separate teams next year, there will be a lot better turnout,'' captain junior Maren Larson said.

The tryouts will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the practice gym located on the second floor of the Elmen Center.

The new coach and Larson will teach the prospective cheerleaders two chants and the Augustana school song during the first two hours. The third hour is designed for the coach and captain to observe everyone's potential in stunting, which consists of building human pyramids and doing various tosses. Sheley says prospective cheerleaders find the stunting section of the tryout to be the ''most intimidating.''

''I'm in dance, but I want to try cheerleading,'' freshman Sarah Finnesand said. ''I've never done it before though, so I'm just kind of nervous that I wouldn't know how to do any of the complex stuff.''

Sheley said that newcomers should not be worried, because the coach and captain will work with everyone.

''If you haven't stunted before, we will train you,'' Sheley said. ''In fact, we have had many girls be on the team that have never stunted before and end up being really good at it.''
The absence of male cheerleaders limits the range of stunting the team can do. The group has always strongly encouraged men to tryout, although none have in the last three years.
''We have tried to get some recruited just by having the girl squad members talk to some, but they don't end up doing it,'' Sheley said. ''We have come close with a few that thought about it. I think it's hard to get those first ones to join.''

According to Sheley, male cheerleaders would strictly be involved with the lifts related to stunting and would be trained to do so.

''Having just one male cheerleader would take the team to a new level of stunting,'' Sheley said.

Other skills that students are asked to perform during the tryout, besides stunting, include a toe touch, jump of choice, three different splits, gymnastics ability and memory skills. The coach will critique these in the fourth hour.

The leadership asks all the students to stay until the entire group is finished, and the coach will announce who made the team within a half hour after tryouts are done.

Cheerleaders have the option of taking cheerleading for a general credit at Augustana.

''It's a great sport because you don't have to travel or compete, and you get a credit for working hard,'' Larson said. ''It also teaches teamwork and is a stress reliever and a way to get away from school and studying for a while.''