Hey everybody! I know I haven't been back to the blog in a while, but things have been exciting lately for the Ravens' cheerleaders.
We had tryouts last weekend, and there were a lot of new girls mixed with the familiar faces. I thought the weekend went really well for me, even though I was a little nervous. This is my seventh year, so I was a little surprised that the butterflies were there.
One of the things we have to do when we introduce ourselves to the judges is offer an interesting fact about ourselves. I normally talk about my education or something like that, but this year I pointed out that I have a blog on BaltimoreRavens.com, which I hope they liked. I made it through to the next round, so I guess it worked a little.
Every year, I feel like you have to bring something new to the table, no matter how long you've been on the team. You always have to mind your Ps and Qs, and that comes with staying in shape, being on top of your looks and staying sharp with your dancing or stunting skills. I don't think you can ever feel that you've got it in the bag.
As for me, I think that I have a chance to contribute to the leadership of this team if I end up making it. There is a gap between some of the seven- and eight-year veterans and the one-, two- or three-year vets - and that goes for the rookies, too. I think it's important to have that old-school spirit on the team with the people that are maybe a little closer to the coaches and have been there before.
As for the new girls that tried out, I'm very excited for them, even though they're my competition. There are a lot of different looks, different styles and different talents. That always adds excitement to the team, and I think [cheerleading coordinator] Tina [Galdieri] is happy about that, too.
Tryouts are definitely not over yet. The rookies all have to go through a round of interviews that cover more of their background, their interests and their goals. Veterans only have to take a physical from the Ravens' doctors to make sure we're all still fit to make the squad.
Then, we have two rounds of practices that put us all together in a group setting. Those are mainly to see how the entire group will interact.
It's going to be a little while before we have the final squad—actually, I think that will be on April Fool's Day. I hope I don't have any jokes played on me this year.
Until next time, thanks for reading this edition of the Ravens Spirit blog.
Go Ravens!
- Leslie A.
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