What’s the secret sauce for successful student sections? Creativity, sure, but rivalries and sense of community help
The size and fervor of a student section can be fluid, as evidenced by the increased numbers attending North Catholic boys basketball games this season.
Senior Gabe Martins is the student council president and heads this year’s band of student supporters.
“The student section wasn’t very big my freshman and sophomore year,” Martins said. “Last year, maybe 70 people would show up. Now, we’re getting over 150.
“I think the difference is, as seniors, we are more engaged with the younger students than the seniors were a couple of years ago. We encourage them to come to games, and let them know that we want them to be there to support the team.”
It’s a simple formula. The more students who show up leads to a louder contingent, and more cheers, boos and chants players from the opposing team need to tune out.
North’s student section is located directly across the court from the Trojans’ bench, meaning opposing teams warm up in front of a rowdy bunch.
“There was a night earlier this season when a player from the other team was shooting 3-pointers right in front of us,” Martins said. “That’s really a terrible place to try and warm up because we were all yelling, and it got pretty loud. All of his shots were off. As soon as he moved to the other side, he started making them.”
It’s not often a game includes a large student section for both teams, but that was the case when Knoch’s boys visited North Catholic Jan. 9. This is the second consecutive year the teams are WPIAL Section 1-4A foes.
The Trojans had so many backers that students, most dressed accordingly for “Red-out Night” were sitting in the stairway of the bleachers. At the opposite end of the gym, Knoch was brought its own raucous crowd.
One of them was Koen Sundie, who is a fixture in the stands at home games for the Knights, at which the atmosphere is amplified by the presence of a pep band.
“We don’t get a lot of people to most away games,” the senior said. “A lot of it depends on how far away they are, but we’ve formed a really good rivalry with North Catholic and definitely wanted a good crowd there.
“That was the loudest I’ve ever heard a gym get,” said Sundie, who agreed with Martins that their respective student sections will be in full vigor when the teams meet Feb. 3 at Knoch as the Trojans look to avenge a 65-56 loss.
“We have a really good basketball team, and it dominates a lot of our opponents,” Martins said. “But there are certain games, like Central Catholic and Knoch, that we know are going to be good. Those are the games we get the best turnout for.”
Karns City senior Quinn Robinson has two traits that make him a perfect leader for the Gremlins’ student section.
“I am very outgoing and outspoken,” he said. “I can laugh harder than any person in the room. Growing up, I always had a fun group of friends, and that hasn’t changed one bit.“
Robinson, who lives in East Brady, said he attended a few KC basketball games as a freshman and sophomore, but his support picked up last year when then-senior Cam Ealy was leading things.
“I’d go to games, be part of the student section with a number of good friends and at the end of the year, Cam asked if anyone wanted to take over as leader. A bunch of students asked if I would.
“One thing I noticed about Cam, he always paid attention to the game, knew what was going on. That’s something I do and I want everyone in our section to do — pay attention to the game.”
Robinson makes sure his cohorts are ready with a chant at the appropriate time.
There’s the often-heard “You can’t do that!” when a player from the opposing team commits a foul and “Air ball!” when a shot fails to hit the rim.
The section also belts out a loud and emphatic “What!” when it disagrees with an official’s call.
Many student sections will follow each errant shot by an opponent during warmups with “Miss!” But the Gremlins’ faithful take it a step further. They count each miss as it happens. Prior to a recent game, the total was over 100, and the students made sure to let the visitors know it.
Robinson played football for the Gremlins and currently dons a walking boot due to a case of drop foot. But it hasn’t kept him from attending games or dulled his enthusiasm.
“I love going to games and watching my friends play and, hopefully, have an impact on the outcome,” Robinson said. “I don’t want to take credit for us winning, it’s the players who are out there actually performing. But we can be very loud and distracting.”
