The cheerleading team had tryouts for the 2011-2012 school year on June 13. Following deliberation, there will now be 12 girls on the varsity team, and 16 on the JV team.

After placing at nationals for the past two seasons, the stakes for new members have increased.
“I was really excited to try out for the team this year,” junior Morgan Webster said. “I definitely was nervous because I was the only new incoming senior trying out, but after the tryout clinic, I felt I learned a lot.”
The tryouts consisted of a week-long clinic in which the team learned a cheer, a sideline, various jumps and a dance from the United Cheer Association.
“I thought the tryout this year was significantly more difficult than those of past years,” sophomore Nadya Shahin said. “The dance was definitely a lot harder and [the tryout] really tested our cheerleading skills.”
Shahin has been on the team since freshman year and said the difficulty has escalated with each year’s tryout.
“I think every tryout, and then subsequent practices, are getting harder every year,” Shahin said. “We’ve started running more, doing more stretches like the splits and leg lifts, and have been expected to really raise the quality of our performance.”
Seniors Talia Balma and Erin Wong note that leaving the team is bittersweet; they are excited to try out for college cheer and dance teams at the University of Washington but will miss not being on the team next year.
“The great thing about this team is [that] it prepared me so much for trying out for the University of Washington team,” Balma said. “I love that we are always learning something new and will really miss cheering for SHS.”
Senior Erin Wong remembers how much she has changed from her first tryout to four years later.
“I think, overall, we improved as a team so much,” Wong said. “I am so sad to leave but think next year’s team will be great, and keep improving.”