GO! BIG! BLUE! Solon High School (SHS) students, staff and parents, have you experienced the excitement of school spirit? With dances, games, pep rallies and holidays, each student is exposed to some real pep! SHS has many spirit teams that shout loud and proud.

As an SHS varsity cheerleader, I have the opportunity to experience school spirit firsthand.

The SHS administrators do the best they can to help my peers and I throughout these treacherous teenage years. While I enjoy my cheerleading team and appreciate the help of the administrators, the hate we get from students and peers for just being cheerleaders feels targeted.

While cheering for the SHS football team, we have shown a respectable amount of spirit, but sometimes our players have a certain viewpoint of us, giving us dirty treatment or sometimes not even acknowledging us. We give them a hype crowd and someone to cheer them on. And we’re not too bad at it either. I feel that we deserve more respect than were given because of that. Since the attendance for sporting events dropped last year, because of covid, we have done our best to get students to be present.

Solon High School switched to online school via Zoom for their 2020-2021 school year, making a change to the high school’s activities like football games, the homecoming dance and going into school in general.

Ever since then, the crowd has gained about 35% more from spirit boys, cheerleaders, band and Starlettes.

“I love it,” said Jessica Birchak, a senior at SHS. “Sporting events wouldn’t be the same without [school spirit].”

Cheerleaders and spirit boys bring out the real pep and show the crowd it’s okay to have fun up there in the stands. With the help of school counselors and teachers, I believe we’ve reached the peak with school spirit this year, with lots of students and parents cheering us on as we fly through the games, and I think it’s because of this year’s graduating cheerleaders, spirit boys, band and Starlettes.

Senior Varsity cheerleader Ashlyn Lally feels that Solon High School’s spirit has been taken to the next level this year.

“We’ve had a lot of events involving everyone, and the year has gotten off to a great start, and it’s honestly a lot of fun,” said Lally.

In addition to that, some students’ views on school spirit could be different, such as not liking the spirit groups, not having fun and sometimes not even participating in activities. This attitude makes it hard to like the school and feel like we can be ourselves.

Although we may look happy and ready for a win, some senior cheerleaders and spirit boys feel underappreciated for the spirit we bring to the school.

The hype crowds and fans change the overall vibrancy of school sporting events. Friday night lights aren’t something to miss, volleyball games keep you on the edge of your seat, golf tournaments have you squinting and cross country has you reaching for your water. Sporting events need the crew of students and parents to keep them going.

SHS’s school spirit has me excited for the winter season sports and activities, and I can’t wait to see what we can do! Be sure to purchase tickets on the Solon Schools home website under Solon High School.

The more the year continues, the better the spirits get. Winter sports season is around the corner, and I’m looking forward to some fun.