The district informed cheer coaches and faculty across the district on March 28 that Frisco ISD would be revisiting how high school cheerleaders make the team because of issues with cheer team sizes. This comes despite the fact that the 2016-2017 cheer team had already been announced. The change in policy led to seniors who were cut from the team being invited back while future varsity squads will be restricting to juniors and seniors only.

This announcement comes at a time when issues have surfaced about seniors not making the team after three years of commitment, a situation that has occurred the past two years on campus. When approached for information on the matter, both cheer coach Michelle Stukel and Principal Scott Warstler replied with the same statement via email:

“Last year, the decision was made to open up tryouts for varsity cheer squad to sophomores rather than just juniors and seniors,” they said. “We operated this year’s tryouts under those same guidelines. Part of the reason for this change being implemented was the University Interscholastic League’s decision to begin piloting competitive cheer. An unintended consequence of this change, however, has been an imbalance among the sizes of the cheer squads and the ability to field the appropriate number of cheerleaders on the junior varsity squads. We will continue to review this process and believe that we will most likely go back to only having juniors and seniors trying out for the varsity cheer squads and for this year, we will be making some adjustments that reflect that direction. The primary intent of our squads has always been to be leaders in school spirit and in supporting all teams and we want to be sure that all of our processes and protocols are in the best interest of students.”

In June of 2014, the University Interscholastic League approved a pilot program for the 2015-2016 school year that would incorporate competitive cheerleading into the school activity that in the past has always been defined as “spirit” activity rather than an athletic endeavor. This pilot program was thought to be the first step in deciding whether UIL would come to initiate cheerleading into the world of Texas sports, with UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt even considering a state championship aspect to the possible sport. This process pushed Frisco ISD to allow sophomores to try out for the varsity team, just as other sports would allow, leading to some seniors not making the team, even with three years of experience under their belt.

“Basically, a lot of the people who tried out this year didn’t get put back on the team,” junior Brooke Spencer said. “So five out of the 16 girls that were on varsity last year didn’t get put back on the team and three of us are seniors. Then we got told that Frisco ISD sent out this letter saying that the same situation happened to a lot of other schools in the district and they don’t feel like it’s right that they’re losing a lot of senior leadership. So any of the seniors that were affected by it and qualify with the scoring, then they could be back on the team.”

However, for seniors who will be allowed back on the team, the decision to rejoin is a difficult one, with Spencer fearing different treatment because she did not initially make the team.

“I’ve like been very indecisive about it,  just because I don’t want to be treated any differently than the other girls,” Spencer said. “But I do really enjoy cheering, so I feel like I would regret it especially because it’s going to be my senior year.”

However, even with these concerns, cheering for the school as a senior seems to take precedence, even in the face of the initial rejection.

“I get a senior night, I get to be with my team one more year and just enjoy more memories,” junior Kela Thomas said. “To cheer with the girls that I’ve cheered with since middle school again means a lot to me. I’m going to go back on the team so I can have the experience one more time.”

This issue is not a new one, as the change allowing sophomores to try out for varsity led to seniors being cut from the 2015-2016 team, resulting in one senior cheering for the varsity team, captain Brennan Gillilan.

“The same type of situation happened last year because they just changed the rule last year that sophomores could make varsity if their scores were high enough,” Spencer said. “So far, I’ve already heard a lot of drama from some of the senior girls that didn’t make it last year who are really struggling with why did [FISD] just did it this year. I think it’s just been kind of an ongoing problem.”