Fall sports kick-off was Aug. 26, which means new teammates for each sport. Sports such as the Railiners dance team, and cheer team held tryouts in the last week of the 2021-2022 school year. Results for each team came out the following week which shows which team the prospective members could have been on. This year, there were three freshmen that made the varsity cheer team while the dance team accepted three new freshmen on their team.
Freshmen have the opportunity to make either varsity or junior varsity. About 7 percent of freshman athletes will make the varsity team during their freshman year according to scholarshipstats. Freshman Chloe Harder had an older sister who helped inspire her cheer career. Harder took the time to FaceTime her sister when finding out the results of the tryouts.
“One of the main reasons [I tried out] is my older sister Anna. She made me want to try out for cheer. I have wanted to be like her ever since I could remember,” Harder said.
The University Interceltic League in Texas held a vote to see if there should be a ban on freshmen being allowed to participate in a varsity sport, with the ban not passing the freshman in public schools were still allowed to participate in varsity sports according to Front Porch News. Currently, there are no schools in Kansas that are taking such actions.
“I can’t say I didn’t expect to step in a varsity game, because I have been working hard to earn my spot this summer, but the amount of time I played in the first game did surprise me,” freshman Cole Ebert said. “I was excited, looking forward to playing at a higher level than I had before high school, and ready to work with my team to have a great season. It was a ton of work, constantly pushing myself to perform the whole game.”
Dedication is mentioned in the handbook, it states that athletes need to be a good representation of the Railer Way. Athletes are expected to not cheat, respect the rules regarding fair sportsmanship, and all actions should be done positively according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association guidelines.
“I’ve danced my whole life,” freshman Emelia Mosqueda said. “I started dancing when I was about five years old and started competitively in 2019. I was happy that I made varsity and I guess I was just relieved. It’s been great, I love my team.”
Cheer tryouts included learning a routine that the potential cheerleaders would get looked at by the judge’s panel and coaches. A list was posted of which team the student made it on would be posted online or on paper by the front doors.
“I was 50 percent sure I would make varsity this year. I had practiced the material so much but I also didn’t know if that was good enough for the judges,” Harder said. “It has been overwhelming at times but overall it’s so enjoyable. I always receive help when I need it. [The team] has been so supportive of me. I couldn’t ask for better teammates.”