“The tides comin’ in, brah!” boomed the students that lined the bleachers as the WFS volleyball team faced off against Tower Hill. With the loving support of their peers, the Quakers were able to ride that tide to a 3-1 win. WFS prides itself in being a close community, providing students with a welcoming, friendly, and safe environment. As a result, when any WFS sports team is locked into a competition, their community is there to cheer them on. However, there is a line between vocalizing support and poor sportsmanship, so Whittier reached out to the community to explore the differences.

In all competitions, the pressure to win is evident. The WFS volleyball players have noted that the collective encouragement of their peers helps to relieve some of the pressure that comes from tough opponents during close games. “A loud student section boosts our confidence, and it makes the other team and their students a lot less intimidating,” says Jerica Xu ’18. Not only is the cheering considered helpful by the players, it is also enjoyable for the students. When asked about cheering on the volleyball team, Ryan Fischer ’18 says, “It’s a lot of fun to get really hyped about something with a bunch of your friends, and volleyball is a fun sport to watch regardless, for multiple reasons.” Since players and audience members are confined to a compact gym, even a small group of students can make a big difference. “It was a lot of fun, especially because of the rivalry and the atmosphere at the game,” comments Andrew Slomski ’17 on the Tower Hill game.

“As fun as it is to cheer on your team, there definitely is a point where fun crosses the line of obnoxious,” says John Blackwell ’18. While spectating the past two volleyball games against Ursuline and Tower Hill, students received warnings about making noise and being distracting before the other team served the ball. “In volleyball it is disrespectful to make noise at all when someone is serving,” says Rachael Ramirez ’17. The entire team voiced a similar opinion when asked about the issue. After receiving warnings, the WFS student section ceased their focus-breaking outbursts before serves at both the Ursuline and Tower games. “We love how loud and supportive our student section is during games, but it can be unsportsmanlike when the fans start cheering in a negative way, because we know firsthand how that can mess with your focus,” comments Sloan Maas ’18. “I think the line between cheering for your team and being unsportsmanlike is when you start dissing the other team instead of cheering,” adds Isabel Crowther ’18. Friends students have to stay true to the school’s established ideals, and be conscious of the effect of cheering on both teams.

All in all, the WFS volleyball team has started their season with a bang, and the fans are loving it. “It’s so helpful when students cheer for us and we know we have their support; we LOVE our student section,” adds Maas. The student section will continue to back the WFS volleyball team during matches, while still upholding the core values instilled in students by the school. Students must remember that acting unsportsmanlike does not only have consequences for them, but for the team and entire school’s integrity. “We need to think about how this is representing Friends School and the respect we’re giving to other schools,” says Blackwell. As members of this community, exercise your freedom of speech at competitions, while being respectful to the competition. Go Quakers!