Scout Nation, Varsity Cheer, and the LFHS Band are taking a new initiative to create a more cohesive student section this year. This year as opposed to years past, the three groups have created a spreadsheet to prepare for the Friday Night home football games.
This new initiative was decided to promote more school unity and to keep the cheering at the games positive. The hope is that this will lessen any sort of negative cheering.
Scout Nation Sponsor Mrs. Julie Crouch said that the “goal is to bring band, cheer, and Scout Nation together as a unified group.”
“The more that we work together, the less chance there is for us to root against teams,” Crouch said.
Another new addition to Scout Nation is the Executive Board, consisting of six upperclassmen. The Executive Board splits up by chairs to focus on different branches of school spirit and student body participation.
The Board nominated a group of Senior Leaders to stand in front of the student section for the entirety of the game.
The variety of students nominated were picked with a goal to encourage all types of people to participate, and leaders that all students would “respond to.”
“The leaders are from all over different friend groups so that when people are in the stands, they see someone they know and respect in front of them, and then can follow suit and go along with what’s being asked of them,” Crouch said. “We want it to be a positive environment. That’s the goal.”
The leaders’ roles are to listen to the band, respond accordingly, and get the students involved.
Some of the traditional chants – “SCO-UTS,” “Scouts, get fired up!,” and “Fight Song” with the band – are staying in the cycle of chants at the games. However, some new chants – “Oi Oi Oi,” “We Are Lake Forest,” and “7 Nation Army” from the band – are being implemented in the next few games.
Crouch is hopeful that at the next three home games, the energy at the game will ramp up, and students will be engaged in the cohesive unit that is cheer, Scout Nation, and band.
“We started off on the right track by getting this going… I think by the Homecoming game [this Friday], we should be in really good shape,” she said.
Their efforts were brought to life Sep. 13th at the game against Warren Township High School. The behind the scenes that went into this game included lunch meetings with Scout Nation and various conversations between the three groups, but the programs had never met all together.
Varsity Cheer Captain Amelia Kavanaugh attended some of the meetings in order to prepare the cheerleaders for the changes being made.
“Constant emails are going out between the leaders and coaches of each program,” Kavanaugh said. “We’re all coming up with stuff collectively so that we’re all on the same page.”
Despite their best efforts, the path to a successful execution isn’t always easy.
“It can get kind of confusing and hard to be cohesive when we aren’t all physically together,” Scout Nation President Sara Drowne said. “The easiest part is that everyone likes the idea, and is all willing to find a way to make it work.”
Dean Mrs. Laura Clegg spends the Friday Night games in the front of the student section, standing by Scout Nation. She said that Scout Nation is “bigger and better” this year compared to previous years.
“There’s been way more things planned ahead of time. The spirit of the [Scout Nation] leaders has been huge…it’s actually been so good and so fun,” Mrs. Clegg said.
Clegg was complimentary of the work put in by all three groups as they continue to refine their techniques each game.
In hopes of a successful Homecoming game, the three groups are continuing to follow their spreadsheet. The positive feedback from the Warren game is a step in the right direction for Scout Nation, according to Drowne.
“I had a few people come up to me and say that they thought that the game was the most fun game they’d ever been to. They said that Scout Nation did a really good job compared to previous years,” Drowne said.
