MEMPHIS, Tenn. –One could say tryouts for the University of Memphis 2020-21 Spirit Squads had a different twist to them this spring.
Oh, there were the traditional routines and tumbling skills on display, but this time they were viewed through a different lens for coaches Carol Lloyd and Tony Crump. Unable to convene on campus to conduct tryouts, the staff had prospective team members try out by submitting videos.
There were videos taken in garages, backyards, dance studios, cheer gyms, parks and on football fields and random patches of grass.
It was a scene played out throughout the country by spirit squad coaches hamstrung by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced campuses to close as part of an effort to mitigate the spread of the disease.