Student section secrets

The “Friday night lights” glimmer off of the sparkly signs and glossy pom poms. Blue and gold apparel fills the crowded bleachers of the student section as senior Levi Overway throws a 40 yard pass. The crowd goes crazy when junior Joey Zelenka manages to connect with the ball as he falls into the endzone.

The student section goes wild, there to cheer him and the rest of the Bucs on.

“When we need something hype, the student section usually gives it to us,” Overway said. “We feed off of their energy. If they’re loud and excited, then that gets us excited.”

Having fun and going crazy is great, but being prepared to do chants as the plays happen and focusing on the game motivates the team.

“Making sure that they are into the game the whole time as best as they can, that would help us more,” Overway said.

The student section is meant for cheering and pumping up the players. It is not a time to criticize or tear others down.

The student section resembles the 12th Buc. The original concept was taken from Texas A&M University, a college game day tradition. Coach Jason Duram adopted it last year when he was named head coach. There are only 11 players on the field during a play, so the student section is supposed to represent the 12th player, or the 12th Buc.

“The more enthusiastic you are, the easier it is for people to see that behavior and mirror it,” senior student section supporter Hannah Kenny said. “So if you’re willing to put yourself out there, be more vulnerable, cheer really loud and be a good ‘Buc’ then do it because soon other people will be like “yeah, I wanna be like that to.””

Making sure that everyone is participating and feels welcomed is part of our school motto, “one team, one family, one Grand Haven.”

“I wish that the underclassman would feel more involved and then we’d have a better way to communicate with them,” Kenny said. “They wouldn’t feel like a separate group. I want everyone to feel included.”

As a high school it’s our job to stay connected and cheer on our classmates. Doing that in an excited, respectful and encouraging manner is extremely important.

“Win or lose, we’re all in this stuff together,” Duram said.

Senior Lukas Steffel admits that when he gets out on the field the section really helps get him pumped up.

“Everyday I come into the game, just trying to bring the juice,” Steffel said.  “Sometimes, the student section just gives me that juice.”