Since the COVID pandemic, high school spirit has not been what it once was. From pep rallies to big games, the spirit has seemingly dwindled. Fewer students attend volleyball games, tennis matches, softball games, cross country meets, dance performances at volleyball games and senior nights. Why are schools, including STA, losing their spirit?
While Spirit Club moderator Kristen Walker has not noticed any significant changes this year, she notes that school spirit has not been the same post-COVID.
“I think COVID played a big impact in the decline of school spirit and it has not been the same since,” Walker said. “I believe there are many factors to why this has happened and I don’t think it can be pinpointed to one certain thing.”
Walker thinks that students have become increasingly busier with many out-of-school activities and are not able to create time for them to support their classmates.
“Many students nowadays play club sports or are in many extracurricular activities, with little time to themselves,” Walker said. “If they do have a night off, they might not want to spend it in a noisy gym, or they might have practice that they can’t skip.”
Varsity volleyball player Drew Kasyjanski believes that a small student section, resulting in less energy in the gym, can affect the attitude and drive of the team.
“When my classmates are there, it definitely makes me play better and [I am] more excited,” Kasyjanski said. “It definitely makes me a lot more excited for games.”
Kasyjanski also notes that she thinks the lack of the school spirit is changing the STA experience.
“It makes me really sad when not a lot of people show up for our games because when I was an underclassman I would go watch the volleyball games, and the energy was really positive,” Kasyjanski said. “Having girls always watching you and looking up to you is a really special thing, especially at STA, so I think it was a little disappointing not to have that same support for our big games.”
Spirit Club president Abby Lanter has sent numerous texts to the Spirit Club Teams page, trying to encourage members to come to games.
How can STA find its spirit again? Social media is a way students can find out about the games, from accounts like Twinks of Avila on
Instagram.
“It is easier to make the games more well known, so they [social media posts] have been helpful,” Walker said. “The leaders of Spirit Club post the game times and themes on Instagram, or even just send a quick teams chat.”
With the basketball season coming into full swing, many athletes on the team are optimistic that students of STA will show up to their
games and support them.
“I really hope people will support us this year,” senior Nora Roddy said. “It makes the games so much more fun and we can definitely
feel the energy from the student section.”
Similar to Roddy, head basketball coach Kiera Hardy believes that having a strong standing from the STA student body brings a sense
of pride for the basketball team.
“When there are a lot of students who come to games, it gives us a sense of support that STA believes in us,” Hardy said. “There is
nothing we can’t accomplish when we put our minds to it, especially when we have the support of the student body.”
