Get out and root, root, root for the home teams

With fall sports on the horizon, the community needs to be reminded what a vital role it plays in supporting the local high schools in the upcoming year.

While football is the popular sport at arguably any school in the United States, the other sports need to be supported too. One sport that comes to mind for the fall season is the cross country teams in Cheney and Medical Lake that both have a history of being successful. The teams have been known to send student-athletes to state and have a solid program.

Both schools have a lot going on, especially in the fall, and people should show up to help recognize the student-athletes that put so much time and effort into competing. Not only do these kids have high expectations from coaches, they also have to perform successfully academically so they can compete for their school.

If you want to be a part of a small town, the community needs to come out and support the local sports and other events brought on by the high schools. People come out for games in small towns, it is what they do. That is the indication of a small town and that’s what makes it unique.

Boosters also play a key role in the high school sports and clubs. Both Cheney and Medical Lake have decent booster clubs, but if sports and other groups like the school band want the community support, we need to see the boosters be more visible, instead of just being online or on Facebook.

And it is not just the community that needs to step up to the challenge, it is also the students that need to go out and support their fellow classmates. There is only one time in your life that you are able to cheer on your high school and students should be taking advantage of the experiences right now. The schools also need to make the sporting events a welcoming atmosphere for the students so that they want to come and make sure they do not try to ruin the fun of the young adults.

A prime example of the potential support we could get for our high schools is the annual basketball Spirit Game. Anybody who has attended the matchup between Cheney and Medical Lake knows how exciting that night is. Now imagine if every basketball game was even just halfway that energized?

We know that people show up for events, but we also think that we can do better and truly make our team sports have a home field/court advantage. People should be excited about the sports and events coming up in the local high schools.

As of tomorrow, fall sports officially kick off with a football game in Medical Lake versus Kellogg and Cheney football travels to Sunnyside. Cheney’s soccer also starts their season with a game at Mt. Spokane. And it is only the beginning of fall sports as there is also cross country, swimming and volleyball. So there is a lot of opportunity to go out there and support the kids.

You are literally invested in the community with the 10s of millions of dollars used to support schools. You owe it to yourself to go support all the activities going on at your local high school.