PSA
Continued from Page 1
and said that she had always respected
Brother Rice, but that changed after the
rude display of sportsmanship.
The Goon Squad, over the years, has
given Brother Rice the image of being
a school full of jocks and disrespectful
young men. The actions by the Goon
Squad at Oak Park are the perfect example of why it has this reputation.
This is not the reputation we want.
It is not the way we are taught to act.
In an interview with the Chieftain, Br.
Segvich made it clear that he has a concern about the Goon Squad.
“We focus on the negative, and the
negative is looking to make fun of our
opponent,” he said.
To rehabilitate our reputation as a
strong, Catholic high school full of
SPIRIT
Continued from Page 1
hockey. They even had one for a swim
meet. (Yes, a swim meet.) Is that a little
over the top, or is that something that
should become commonplace at Brother
Rice?
So how do we fix this problem? The
duty of upperclassmen is to make
sure that this spirit does not get lost.
We need to get underclassman to the
games, no matter what’s going on that
night, and it all relies on a system of
support.
“The No. 1 thing to restore the spirit
would be to start with sports supporting each other,” said Head Football
Coach Sofran. “Football guys shouldn’t
expect hockey and soccer guys to support them if they aren’t going to their
games.”
The Athletic Department has begun
choosing a Warrior Game of the Week,
where a varsity game is promoted each
week through announcements and
signs in the school. At the first such
event for the basketball season, Dec. 11,
the student section was primarily made
up of Freshman and JV players who
stayed to watch the Varsity game.
Another idea suggested by some
faculty members is to have pep rallies
to build excitement for big games. But
many feel our pep rallies need to be
revised to promote the games. Some
B ROTHE R R I C E H I G H S C HO O L C H I E F TA I N
students comprised of respect, integrity, character, and excellence, we must
first adjust the way we act at sporting
events, where we represent our school.
Br. Segvich suggested, that, rather than
dressing as “goons,” which just makes
us look like hooligans, why not be organized every week and have a distinctive theme? Maybe simply do a black-,
orange-, or white-out? Or USA? Camouflage? Anything, just so it’s positive
and appropriate.
Above all, the No. 1 thing that needs
to change is the way we cheer. “We
don’t know how to cheer,” our Principal says. “It’s not proactive.”
Rather than being negative towards
the opponent, why can’t we just cheer
positively for our teams? Of course,
being negative sometimes boosts the
energy of t he game and it can be funny,
but it must be moderated.
Athletic Director Jeff Calceterra suggests that, for every negative cheer, we
have five positive cheers. This is a great
strategy. Yelling at the opposing goalie
is a great way to get under his skin, but
cheering for our guys is the best way to
get them motivated to play their best.
What is going to help our student-athletes more: relying on the other team to
mess up, or playing the best? The Goon
Squad can have a more positive influence by motivating our players.
So, in conclusion, a few tips to rebuild
our reputation in a good way:
1) Dress appropriately.
2) Be positive.
3) Moderate heckling to a proper
level: For every one negative cheer,
five positive cheers.
4) Strive to be better.
5) And, most importantly, encourage
our athletic teams to victory.
ideas were to
have hype videos play with
highlights from
previous games;
have coaches
and captains
introduce their
teams; and give
recognition to
teams, such as
bowling and
skiing that don’t
get as much
time in the spotlight.
We can do
this.
Or, as Br.
Segvich said,
“It’s your
school.”
The coaching
staff is open to
it, but it’s up
to the students
to restore the
spirit. Br. Segvich and Coach
Sofran agree
The old days included Marian cheerleaders, bands, and packed houses
that it would be
cause, we can have the best school spirit
great to have pep rallies and events to
in the state. So next time you’re debatpromote our teams, but they both had
ing between a party and a game, please
one rule: We have to be organized to
remember that supporting your Warpull it off.
riors is always the better option.
If everyone can come together for this
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D E C E M B E R 2015