The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have been an iconic feature of Texas, especially for Frisco residents with The Star in the heart of the city. The team of 36 women strike and dance on all sides of the field until they perform their main act to Thunderstruck by AC/DC during halftime. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were established more than 50 years ago in 1961, but the current Netflix documentary, America’s Sweethearts, has brought a new light on the team.
The Redhawks, however, have closer connection to the Cowboys and the cheerleaders. Among the Sweethearts: Liberty High School Class of 2013 graduate Tori Skillings. Skillings is leaving her mark on the cheer squad, but she recognizes her roots where she started: the Nest.
“I was a cheerleader. I was also in student council, so I was very involved and I felt like I was very actively involved,” Skillings said. “I just remember Liberty as just a really awesome place to go to school. I made a lot of friends. I went to a lot of events. I went to a lot of football games, obviously. And I just remember having the best teachers and the best coaches, and it was just a really great place to be a part of.”
It’s where she found her DCC destiny.
“My sophomore year, we went to the playoffs and I got to cheer at AT&T Stadium for the first time,” Skillings said. “So was my first time being at the stadium and first time being on the field. And I just remember thinking to myself, I want to come back here one day and become a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.”
But Skillings didn’t do it all on her own. Her time as a Redhawk left an impact, with one person still on campus helping inspire the future DCC member.
“So I had a really awesome cheer coach, Coach Miller and Coach K’s, they taught me a lot, and they helped push me into going to Texas Tech, which helps with my journey to become a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader,” Skillings said.
Former cheer coach Cynthia Kays remembers the life Skillings brought to the field from the Nest to Texas Tech and now vitality of her presence at AT&T.
“I think the biggest thing that I see is watching her do something that she loves,” Kays said. “She was a dancer. She was in cheer. She was. She teaches dance. She was a tech on the tech pom squad. And so watching her go through and just live the life that she was meant to live. I think that’s the biggest thing because you can see that she loves everything that she does.”
Becoming a DCC isn’t an easy process, many women try out multiple times and still never make it. But for Skillings, rejection didn’t stop her.
“So I first auditioned for DCC back in 2020, [but] I did not make it my first year, “ Skillings said. “It was the COVID year. We were in the bubble. It was a very different year, but I learned so much throughout that time and grew so much. And then I made it in 2021, and that was my rookie year, and I’m currently in my fourth year as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.”
The audition process is already difficult, but candidates still need to make it through training camp. For Skillings, the dedication and hardships were all worth it.
“So training camp is hard,” Skillings said. “People think it’s just like we show up and it just happens and we make the team. But it is difficult. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It’s several weeks and they don’t hold back on us, but it’s the most rewarding and wonderful experience. You meet all of your best friends and you go through it together, and it’s just something that you learn so much about yourself with and how much you’re capable of. And it’s just a really amazing experience at the same time. So it’s difficult, but it’s so rewarding at the same time.”
Cheerleaders come from all over the country to be one of America’s Sweethearts, but Because Skillings has lived in Frisco her whole life, she has been able to see city and the Star become what they are today.
“The coolest thing about coming from Frisco and then coming back was the Star was being built when I was in college at Texas Tech,” Skillings said. “So when I would come back home, I would see the progress of the Star being built. And so when I graduated, that’s when it was the first, year the Star was open to the public. And when I was growing up, Frisco wasn’t that big of a city. And so we had one-way streets. There were cows, and now it’s like this huge city. So it’s really cool coming back after college and just seeing how big Frisco has grown, and now having the star and being able to like, I don’t know, I feel like I’m a hometown hero almost.”
This story was originally published on Wingspan on November 22, 2024.
