The Westside cheerleading program just wrapped up tryouts and have announced their squads as well as the new changes for the 2026-2027 season.
In previous years, there have been three cheer teams including: freshman, junior varsity, and varsity. Incoming freshmen were able to make the freshman team or JV, while sophomores and upperclassmen could make either JV or varsity teams. The cheerleaders attended and will continue to attend football, boys and girls basketball, and volleyball games to cheer and perform. Each squad is responsible for cheering at home varsity football games, and the home games for their corresponding teams. For example, JV cheers for JV games, and freshman cheer for freshman/reserve games. Varsity cheerleaders also attend some away games. There is also a competition team which is a select number of cheerleaders who learn and practice a routine, which often includes more stunting and tumbling, and compete with other schools throughout the winter season. In previous years, there has not been a tryout for the competition team.
New changes to the upcoming season(s) including removing the freshman squad, so there will only be JV and varsity squads, called “JV Gameday” and “Varsity Gameday.” In addition, only freshmen can make the JV squad, and sophomores, juniors and seniors must be on varsity. JV now is responsible for cheering at freshman, reserve and JV games, while varsity will continue cheering at varsity home and some away games. According to the initial announcement of the tryout results, the JV team for the 2026-2027 season will have 12 cheerleaders, and varsity will have 35. Additionally, this year there was a tryout for the competition team, which included stunting and possible tumbling.
The Westside Cheer Program Manager, Jessica Lage, has been a part of Westside Cheer for four years, and this will be her fifth season. She explained that Westside Cheer partnered with the athletic department and administration when looking to introduce these squad changes.
Lage explained one rationale for these changes, saying, “it made sense to combine our typical JV and varsity athletes (grades 10-12) as all of these cheerleaders cheer at a high level and are varsity gameday-ready. We are excited to have more cheerleaders at events and ensure each game is spirit-filled!”
Lage also explained that they found it crucial to have the new JV be composed of incoming freshman cheerleaders to ensure they were taught everything from the ground up.
“These athletes will have the chance to learn throughout the year and bond with one another. I have no doubt you’ll see some of them cheering at varsity events by the end of the year” Lage said, referring to the common practice of cheerleaders serving as substitutes for varsity games when varsity members are unable to cheer due to other commitments or conflicts.
Westside Cheer hopes this will bring more cheerleaders to varsity events, including away games, to give a more “home court advantage” vibe. This also provides the JV team with a more diverse schedule. In addition, the program hopes adding a tryout component for the competition team will increase their success on the state and also national level.
“We also have a goal of our competition team earning a bid to UCA High School Nationals this year and making the trip to Orlando, Florida in February,” Lage shared.
Westside Cheer is truly a year-round sport, beginning practices in June and ending around March, depending on when State Basketball wraps up.
According to Lage, “we always talk about being a year-round sport, cheering at games, supporting other sports through signs and pep rallies, and volunteering throughout the community.” She said, “my favorite time of year is our Little Cheer Clinic where we have been lucky to welcome over 200+ cheerleaders to our clinic learning cheers and chants and getting to cheer on the sideline for a varsity football game.”
Westside Cheer will continue to bring spirit and enthusiasm to the court and field, but now doing so in a new format to bring the program to the next level.
