Whether they had an undefeated season or a season full of hard losses, Twin Valley’s sports teams have always been a point of interest for students.
Students pack the student section at football games on Friday nights.
“Having a student section is a great idea. I like that they cheer no matter what the score is,” said Marching band member Chris Mundell.
Like most years, students come out wearing their school colors to show the team some support, in this case green and white.
Unlike past years at Twin Valley High School, senior Luke Richardson decided there should be a twist – themes to show school spirit.
“I wanted to restore the forgotten spirit at our school,” said Luke. “I wanted to try to get people excited and spirited at games.”
Other students agreed that the themes would be a fun idea. To get the word out Richardson knew that there had to be some sort of social media involved, so what better way than to create an official twitter account. The account was created specifically to inform students of the themes and to get feedback from them. The students can direct message the account and make suggestions or ask questions about the themes.
Even though Luke had used social media and spread the word about the games, his expectations were not very high. So when many students had showed up dressed according to the theme, Luke had been surprised.
“I really didn’t expect as many people to come out and be a part the first time, so I was very excited about it.”
Luke’s idea had spread and students seemed to enjoy the themes as much as he did. They are even suggesting themes of their own now.
The first home game theme was a white out, in order to represent Twin Valley’s school colors. The past home game against Wyomissing Area High School was a USA theme. The student section was completely sported by red, white, and blue. Students wore red, white, and blue face paint, hair bows, shoes, and even flags to represent the theme.
Senior Kara Duriez says, “The different themes in the student section are a great way to get people interested in coming and participating, and they give the students something to look forward to every week.”
Kara even took advantage of the social media. “Yes, I have helped with choosing the theme, the student section Twitter invites you to direct message them ideas for each week’s theme.”
According to the Twin Valley football players and cheerleaders, the themes are a nice touch to the games.
Morgan Stabinski, a cheerleader of Twin Valley since 7th grade and now a senior said, “The themes are really fun and I think they can really bring people together, and its kind of like a little competition to see who can have the better themes.”
Even the football players appreciate the effort that the students are putting in to show their spirit and support the team.
Senior Brandon Plank, number 70 on the football team, really enjoys the support. “I definitely think that having more people there gives us a boost. It’s always great to have such a rocking student section.”
The students are not the only one’s enjoying the different themes and the support, the parents are as well.
Parent Kathy Mundell comes to the games not just to watch the football games, but to support her son Chris Mundell, who is in the marching band.
“I like when they cheer to support the team. I also like that they have fun and protest themselves in a positive manner.”
Her daughter, Sarah, agreed. “I like how the student section has a theme and how they make sure everyone knows what the theme is, and that the band has so much spirit.”
The band plays songs throughout the games to get the crowd excited and moving. The band also plays songs during halftime during their field show such as “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” by Fall Out Boy, “Pompeii” by Bastille, and they even do a medley of songs by Daft Punk.
Thanks to Luke, the themes have spiced up Twin Valley’s Friday night football. They seem to be appreciated by most and have brought something special for students to look forward to.
The spirit that Twin Valley has been showing might not match up to the scores of the games, but that does not stop the Raiders from showing their school some support.
If you are wondering what the ideas are for future themes, Luke had been thinking about a pink-out, black-out, and even a dress to impress week. If you would also like to show Twin Valley a little support, the Raiders next home game is Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.