Y41 Gryffindor Quidditch Tryouts

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko did his best to stand up straight and look as captain-ly as he could as he waited for everyone to arrive. He felt confident that he could do this and although the pressure to win was looming over his head already, he pulled his face into a warm and welcoming smile. "Hello everyone. To those of you who don't know me already, my name is Nikko Blackwood and I will be captain this year." It still felt a little weird to refer to himself as captain. Lysander had left big shoes to fill in more ways than one and it felt strange to be inevitably compared to him after everything that happened. "We have some big spots to fill this year and I hope those of you here to try out are ready to give it you're all. It's been quite some time since Gryffindor has won the quidditch cup but I hope to change that this year." he said assuredly. He wasn't about to make any promises or grand proclamations but he figured it was smart to start off on an optimistic note. "Returning players, you know what to do." he instructed and nodded for them to take to the air and get started. "Those of you trying out, please line up and tell me your name and what position you are trying out for." he explained and pulled out his clipboard, ready to take notes.

Position	Player
Beater	Available
Beater	Available
Chaser	Available
Chaser	Stan Beckett
Chaser	Zephryn Spencer
Keeper	Nikko Blackwood
Seeker	Flynn North
Alternates	Available

Out of Character:

Returning team members must post to keep their spot on the team and last years alternates must re-tryout!
First years can not try out unless there spaces that need to be filled. If you have a first year interested, please PM me, thanks!

 

[Isaiah Thompson]

Isaiah was thrilled for Gryffindor tryouts this year. Sure, it would be strange rolling up to the pitch without seeing Chloë there, or Lysander and Emma for that matter, but the prospect of trying out for an actual starter position rather than an alternate position was enough to make him forget that the second he set foot on the pitch. He listened as Nikko addressed them, giving a small cheer at his introduction. If anyone would've been a logical choice for captain it was Nikko and he was happy to see the other boy rise to the occasion.

"'Sup!" He grinned when it was his turn to step forward, holding onto the hope that this could perhaps be the last time he would have to introduce himself at tryouts. "Isaiah Thompson, trying out for beater." Zay simply stated before turning around to get into the air. Getting his focus on, he watched the bludgers zooming around the pitch before making his pick of which one to follow. He locked his eyes on the bludger and chased after it, giving it a hard whack and watching it fly off in no particular direction just to get the feel of smacking a bludger again. Now that he had, it was game time. He chased after another bludger and grinned when his bat connected with the ball. He called out a warning as he watched it soar towards one of the other players, glad his shot went in the right direction. Zay continued hitting a few more bludgers while switching between playing offense and defense and simultaneously tried to avoid crashing into any player that found their way into his path. Some of them hit their mark, others missed by a hair or just flew in no particular direction. He missed a few hits as well, but he didn't think that mattered. He had seen the most experienced beaters still miss shots after all. At the end of tryouts he touched back down on the ground with a familiar burning sensation in his arm and a confident smile on his face.

 

[Aurora Archer]

Aurora Archer was very nervous, she wanted to play quidditch, but she knew that getting on to a team was hard. She had to compete for a limited number of slots against teammates that could've been alternates. She wouldn't mind being an alternate, but there was no guarantee she would get that either. However, no matter how small the chances were, she was still going to try, she was still going to give it her best effort. She had thought a lot about what position she might play, what role would be best for her, and had settled that she could either be a beater or a chaser, there was no way she wanted the pressure of seeker, and the role of keeper just didn't seem like one she could do well. She desired more of a rush that she didn't think she got in the role of keeper. She looked to the captain and nodded eager as he spoke. She had her brand new nimbus 2001 in hand and though she could spot better brooms, it was her brand new broom.

"Hi I'm Aurora Archer, trying out for beater, though I could play chaser too, beater though is my top position" she said, uncharacteristically rambling as her nerves she felt made her say too much. She got a beater bat, making sure to test the hold and weight of it in her wand hand and then flew up into the air. She felt stable and good on the nimbus broom, she'd had plenty of time to get used to it, and without too much more fanfare raced off in search of bludgers. the first had her flying right past it, so she rushed back and took a swing, hitting the bludger a little more weakly than intended and though it did fly and hit someone, it wasn't a hard hit and she didn't think she deserved the credit of it. She continued to fly around the pitch, hitting the occasional bludger, there were a good few she tried to hit and missed, a few she hit and they went wide, and the smallest number went to the ones she hit and that then hit other players. She was able to protect one of the young try-out chasers, but didn't do a whole lot of protecting. But the thrill and rush of it was so good to her. She had been so keen to try out and it felt so good to finally be able to. She felt at ease on her broom, and at ease within the fray. Though she had been nervous and though she knew she needed to get better, she felt confident as she soared through the air.

Eventually the try-out was called and all too reluctantly Aurora went back to the ground. She had tried hard, played as hard as she could and though she knew her chances were still slim she felt rather good about how she had done. She could hold her head high. ​

 

[Soren Gates]

Soren had decided last year to try out for the Quidditch team, and he was thrilled when he arrived to see Aurora was there as well. He threw her a grin and a wink before standing tall as it was his turn. "Soren Gates! I'm trying out for Chaser," He announced proudly. He'd been practicing with Aunt Dani all pf the break, when she let him. He took off into the air with the others, catching the quaffle a few times. He thought he did alright, scoring five of the seven goals he was trying for. He just hoped that the Keeper/Captain wasn't going easy on him. He hit the ground with the others and chased after Aurora, eager to compliment her on her performance and chat about if they'd make the team.

 

[Jingyi Huang]

It was time for try-outs again and Jingyi was honestly a little nervous about it, but he was determined. After failing the previous year he was pretty determined to make it this time, making sure that he arrived on the pitch nice and early. His grip tightened around his broom, the other around the bat in his hand as he listened to the Captain. He couldn't help as his eyes drifted over the other people on the pitch as well, wondering how many people he was actually going to be going up against for the position he wanted.

"Oh, Jingyi Huang!" He introduced himself once it was his turn, puffing his chest out with a grin, "And I'm trying out as beater, please." With that out of the way, the short boy hopped quickly onto his broom and kicked off into the air, wasting no time in searching for some bludgers to whack around. He really wanted to impress the Captain and prove that he was good enough to make the team. Zipping after his first bludger, Jingyi raised his bat back, frowning as he almost missed, the bludger going rather off course and almost crashing into the stands. But not wanting to give up, he tried again, feeling a little more pleased with it when he made a solid hit. It just took him a moment to get his eye back in, spending the rest of the try-out flying around whacking bludgers as hard as he could and making sure everyone else in the air stayed protected.

Once his turn was over, he landed again, feeling confident that he had done well. Now all he had to do was wait and see if he had done enough to make it this time.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn supposed he wasn't surprised to see Nikko as Captain. It did make logical sense as the boy was the eldest and most senior player on the team. Though his words about Gryffindor not winning the cup in a while did bite hard, Flynn holding back the urge to snap about it. He was very aware that they had failed to win the cup. He thought about that almost every time he looked at his broom and reminded himself that it was basically his fault they hadn't won anything. Huffing, Flynn simply didn't say a word, silently hopping onto his broom and kicking off, flying around and trying to get in some extra practice while he could. This year was going to be different. It had to be.

 

[Zephryn Spencer]

Zee had taken the losses of last Quidditch year a little more difficult than she wanted to. She knew this year she would just have to work harder, especially with what seemed like most of the team gone. The Gryffindor girl had some big shoes to fill with one of the chasers no longer there. Thank goodness she had been practicing as much as she possibly could though.

Zee entered onto the Quidditch Pitch. She knew there would be a new captain. It made sense even if the events of last year did not quite make as much sense. She nodded as Nikko explained what would be occurring this year, happy she did not have to try out once more. When instructed to do so, Zee mounted her broom and kicked off into the air, curious to see what the new people had to offer the team.

 

[Louis Alcott]

Louis knew that this would be his year. It had to be. Last year he hadn't been able to participate in tryouts at all because of Caleb and a stupid box of acid pops. This year, Louis hadn't let anything stop him. He had kept careful track of when the tryouts were so he could be extra careful in the upcoming days. And he had made it. Surely they had to let him play this year.

He waited impatiently for his turn, looking at the other kids that were trying out carefully. He wasn't entirely sure how he compared, but he knew he had to try his best. When it was finally his turn, Louis gave the new captain a confident grin. "I'm Louis Alcott and I'm going to be your new chaser." He said, before taking to the air. Louis grabbed the quaffle once he was able to and made his way to the hoops, dodging a few other players on the way. He managed to score on his first attempt and he grinned widely. It was a good start. He nearly got the quaffle stolen from him on his second attempt, but managed to keep it until he arrived at the hoops. Once he did, he fumbled it and didn't manage to score. He quickly grabbed it again, hoping to recover. Louis scored on his third attempt, and then managed to score three more times. He also failed one more time, but he was fairly confident about how he had done. He just hoped there wasn't anyone else who would do better.

 

[Elara Chatelain]

Elara knew she would likely never get a chance to really play seeker, especially after her failure subbing in for the last game. However, that didn't keep her from trying out... again. Nodding towards Nikko, she gave her a grin. "Elara Chatelain, seeker," she said, and kicked off the ground, hovering for a while. It was hard to not be distracted by Zay in the air, especially as he successfully hit some folks.
She had been working hard to build her speed and agility on the broom as well as her reflexes. She'd even been eating more carrots - maybe they'd help her see the snitch better. Looking out, Elara saw something she thought was the snitch and zoomed towards it, chasing it for a moment before finally grasping her hands around it. Why couldn't she do that in practice? Holding it up quickly for Nikko to see, she let it go before catching it two more times during the tryouts. Once she landed, Elara felt pretty confident she'd be back on the team... as an alternate. But at least she was apart of something.

 

[Ronald Lazarao]

Ronald have a nice vacation to his country and now he need to try out again and then he realize that if he will be an alternate keeper again for this year its means that in his final year he will play to become a Keeper and it will be thrilled if it make a reality. Ronald is in the pitch he wave to new Captain Nikko and then when he heard some booster talk and he want that our team will have a champion for this year so he introduce himself "Hi I'm Ronald and i will try out as a Keeper" and then he grab his broom and then fly to the other back of the hoops and then his main goal is to catch all the quaffle that he enter to his hoops and as a one of veteran alternate Keeper all the quaffle, Ronald blocked or catch it and then when the practice is done, Ronald want to rest on the lake to breath some fresh air before he go back to their common room.

 

[Valentina Merriwick]

Valentina fancied her chances in the run-up to the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts. She knew there were some open spots but she wasn't interested in the positions that were empty. She'd been working hard to get somewhere near good as a keeper and she was excited to test out her skills at the tryouts. She waited with the other until it was her turn when she grabbed her pristine new broom and flew up to the set of hoops she'd been assigned and waited for the chaser who attempted to score by her.

The first shot against her was an easy one, or so she thought at least. After some shaky attempts to throw her off the chase ended up aiming for the centre hoop, Valentina didn't move and easily caught the quaffle. The second was much tougher and she just about managed to dive for the left hoop and used her fingertips to push the quaffle beyond the hoop and watched helplessly as it tumbled to the ground. To her surprise and delight, Valentina made all of her saves, each with a varying degree of difficulty. She was very pleased with herself when she made it back down to the ground. Once the tryout was over she grabbed her broom and left the pitch.

 

[Genevieve Fuentes]

Evie had a bad year last year, but she wasn't going to let one little set back like not making the quidditch team stop her from achieving her dream. She wanted this year to be her year, and it all depended on the next few moments when she would be trying out. The girl made her way onto the pitch with the rest of the people trying out. There were definitely a lot of others who wanted the position and it made Evie just a little bit more nervous for it.

As the captain spoke, Evie gathered around and listened. It was a different person to the year before, and in fact it was Essie's ex, which was definitely not a good sign. Evie felt her heart beating against her chest. It made her even more angry at her sister now. She just really hoped that Nikko would not be petty when making his decision.

When instructed, Evie lined up with the others, and when she made it to the front of the line she made her statement. "My name is Genevieve and I will be trying out for chaser, but I can also do beater." she said, making sure not to say her shortened name or her last name in case he didn't know her otherwise. She would do anything to make this team, and she really wanted to prove it.

The Gryffindor mounted her broom with the others, heading towards the hoops with the quaffle underneath her arm. She dodged a bludger on the way there, almost falling off her broom but keeping her balance with her upper body strength to stay on. She could do it and hoped her nerves wouldn't get the best of her. When she made it to the hoops, she threw the quaffle as hard as she could, beaming as it went straight through the hoop on the right side. She scored a couple more goals until she thought she had proved herself enough, then she headed back down to grab a beater's bat.

It took a little while to find a bludger to hit, but when she found one, Evie aimed for the keeper, swinging wide and watching as the bat collided with the bludger and it headed straight for them. She took pride in her upper body strength, smirking as it hit the keeper. She hit a few more bludgers, eventually just hitting them to show how strong she was. She kept looking down at Nikko every time he did, just hoping he was watching her and very impressed at her abilities.

Soon enough, the tryouts ended and Evie nervously headed back up to the castle. There was nothing much more she could do now and she just hoped she had done enough.

 

[Bern Malakas]

Bern was excited about this practice he want to become a part of a quidditch team, so he thinks that their practice with his cousin will be him an edge to become a member of their team. Bern was surprised that his cousin is on the pitch and then the new captain tell about the journey of their team every year, so when the time that he need to introduce himself "Hello, my name is Bern and I want to become a new Chaser" Bern grab his broomstick and then he fly to his designated area and then he tries his new move he fast to fly but when the area of the hoops is near he slows his moves and the shoot the quaffle in the other side of the hoops because he sees that his cousin all of their attempt will be blocked but the other corner so hard again because the nee captain is so eager so he wish that his effort and repeat to try out every year will be the key to become a new member of a quidditch team, and when the time is done Bern want to relax himself to the quidditch bench and when he is charged he walks up to his common room.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Out of Character:

Thank you to everyone who has tried out so far! Anyone else interested has about 36 hours to post. If any first years have been waiting to try out, please message me first, thanks!

 

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti had practically been vibrating with excitement ever since he arrived at Hogwarts. As far as he was concerned, this was his destiny. This was where his journey would begin. A Seeking prodigy, Quidditch champion, professional teams begging to sign him on, it all started here. He gripped his shiny new Firebolt tight in his hands as the captain introduced himself, standing up as tall as he could. When his turn came, Rāwhiti tried to keep his voice as deep as he could as he spoke. "I'm Rāwhiti Te Rangi, trying out for Seeker!" With that he mounted his broom and kicked off, revelling in how much faster and smoother the ride was than his dad's beat up old brooms back home. This was real flying. He glided around the pitch with the lightest of touches to change angle, eyes searching the air as he flew. Rāwhiti had spent the whole winter practicing for these tryouts, feeling more confident than he ever had in a lifetime of playing backyard Quidditch at home. The snitch revealed itself to him quickly and he dove after it, unable to hold back a laugh of delight as the wind rushed across his face, faster than he had ever flown before. It felt like a matter of seconds before the snitch was in his hand, and he waved it cheerfully at the captain to show his success. Heart racing and blood rushing with joy, Rāwhiti released the ball and gave chase again. He managed several more catches before the tryout was up, face flushed and eyes bright with joy as he finally landed.

 

[Hayzel West]

Hayzel arrived at the pitch to try out once more. Taking the advice from their former Heta prez, she was here to try her luck after not getting in last year. She waved hello to the captains and listened for the usual instructions. Soon enough, tryouts began. When she had her turn, she smiled excitedly. "Hello, y'all. Hayzel West for the beater position." She then mounted her broom and kicked off.

Once she got settled in the air, she set off for bludgers to hit. Sorry for whomever I hit, she cheekily thought the moment she spotted one. She tightened her grip and took aim for the bludger. Pulling her arm, she whacked it hard and watched it zoom and find its target. She flew a lap around the pitch, avoiding others and finding another one coming at her. She stopped, getting ready for it to be close enough. With a strong hit, she managed to squarely send it away. She grinned triumphantly. Two out of five. Three more. She leaned forward, zooming through the other fliers. She still got two more hits in, only missing one, before her time was up. Hayzel exhaled the moment she touched back down. She did her best hoping it was enough.

It was fairly a similar performance to her first tryout and she made a mental note to work on her missed points. She took a quick glance to see if @Finn Lockley was in attendance to see the tryouts. The Puff loved her house and wanted to be a part of it. Also, the boy knew how much she wanted to get into the team with the two of them being interested in flying and Quidditch. Now, it was a waiting game as she walked to the side, a bit breathless from her flying.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Out of Character:

Try outs are now closed! Thank you for everyone who posted. The official line up will be up shortly. Thanks again!!

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Thanks for trying out! Here is the new line up.

Position	Player
Keeper/Captain	Nikko Blackwood
Seeker	Flynn North
Beater	Isaiah Thompson
Beater	Aurora Archer
Chaser	Zephryn Spencer
Chaser	Louis Alcott
Chaser	Soren Gates
Alt Seeker	Elara Chatelian
Alt Keeper	Ronald Lazarao
Alt Beater	Genevive Fuentes

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