What is a team without its supporters? What gives a team motivation to win the game? Meryl Gatti ’15, a three-season varsity athlete, expressed a sentiment that many students share as well: “For the most part our school spirit in terms of sports is good. Basketball and the winter season is where I see the most spirit. I think that’s because all the games take place in a central indoors location. It’s always great to see people come out and support.”

Occurring in the fall, volleyball is one of the most attended sports during the entire school year. After winning eleven years of conference championships and making it into the state championship for twelve consecutive years, volleyball gains more fans each year. Varsity captain Cassidy Martin ‘15 said, “I love how all the fans come out to our games! They make the games so much more fun to play. I love being able to look up in the stands and see the mass of people all cheering.”

Although school spirit is often a great factor in sports games, a group of students known as Sons of Penn became a problem a few years ago. Sons of Penn was the center for school spirit and led school cheers and chants for years. The group became increasingly difficult to deal with for the school administration and the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association. Students started bringing instruments, posters, sound makers, and wearing suits that they called the blue man. Friends, along with the DIAA, began prohibiting these items at not only Volleyball games, but other sports events as well. One anonymous student commented about going to the volleyball games: “I came to the games, and watching the crowd cheer can be very intimidating for the players on both sides of the court. I think the students should be more supportive instead of tearing them down.” But was it just school spirit, or did it go too far? Jack Prendergast ’16 expressed why he goes to school sports games: “All of my friends show up and support a common cause. I don’t think the school should be more sensitive about its cheers because it’s our way of supporting our sports teams.” Although games can be intense at times, Jack expresses the importance of motivating the teams to win.

In addition to volleyball, football is one of the most popular sports games to attend at  Wilmington Friends, especially during this year’s impressive season. Friends fans filled the stands at almost every game this season, including both state championship games in near thirty degree weather. When asked about his experience during the state championship, senior varsity football player Logan O’Brien ’15 said, “I remember during the football playoffs against Archmere, we had a lot of fans come out to support the team. It was certainly a huge motivational factor. School support is definitely valuable in terms of the team’s overall performance.” Despite the freezing weather at the Football DIAA championship games, nearly the entire school went to support and motivate the team to win.

Without the support of the school community, athletes and teams have little motivation to perform well in games and tournaments.  Many sports, such as swimming, have very little support from the student body. Junior, Margaret Kane said, “I wish students were motivated to come support the swim team because we don’t have our own swimming pool at the school. Our team is one of the best in the division, and I wish we could be supported like football or volleyball.” Similar to swimming, cross country and track do not  have much support from the student body. This is mainly due to the fact that these sports are off-campus, which requires students to travel to see the meets. Despite their lack of support from other students, these teams continue to have successful seasons. Whether a team is largely supported or not, the motivation comes from within the team and their will to win for the school.