When Arlie appears on the sidelines these days you might have noticed he’s flanked by bodyguards. No, the Warriors haven’t put a hit out on him, there was just an influx of interest in becoming him. The Colt sat down with head cheer coach Olivia Miller to find out more about the man (or woman) behind the mask.
The Colt: We noticed that the number of mascots has increased from two to five this year, what is the reason for that change?
Olivia Miller: We had several freshmen interested in becoming a mascot, and since our current mascots were both incoming seniors, it was the perfect time to have mascot tryouts. This allows our senior mascots to teach everything they know to the younger mascots.
TC: Who are the mascots?
OM: Our four-year veteran mascots are Mikayla Cathcart and Tristyn Weaver. Our new freshmen mascots are Brett Morris, Zachary Houston, and Madeline Walsh.
TC: What do the younger mascots do compared to the older ones?
OM: Our younger mascots make Arlie appearances at the home JV/FR games on Thursdays, assist the senior mascots at pep rallies, and might even do a pep rally skit of their own sometime soon.
TC: How do they decide who is dressing out for a specific event?
OM: The senior mascots get first dibs at any appearances outside of football games (pep rally, school functions, etc.).
TC: What does it take to be the mascot?
OM: We have a tryout process that is similar to the cheer tryout process. They must be eligible for tryouts based on grades, discipline, and attendance.
TC: What does the mascot tryout process look like?
OM: They create their own skit to perform at tryouts. It must be engaging and include crowd involvement elements. They mix their own music, do voice-overs if necessary, and create their own props.
TC: When can students interested in being Arlie try out?
OM: Anyone interested in mascot tryouts should look for the cheer tryout information in January/February; mascot tryouts will happen at the same time if we have mascot positions open.
