You Can Create a Thriving Cheer Section
January 8, 2013
By Carly Joseph
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior
This time last year, I spent an entire cold winter evening alone in my room on the computer watching the surprisingly large number of Battle of the Fans entries.
I remember being amazed not only by the number of entries, as it was the first year of BOTF, but by the spirit, participation, and positivity of those schools as well.
Though it was both exciting and inspiring to witness such an overload of school spirit all at once, a hint of jealousy crept into my mind. “My school could never do this,” I thought.
I wondered what it would be like to be part of a school that actually had a decent student section. Throughout my first three years of high school, it seemed as if most kids were usually too busy to come to football and basketball games, myself included. Especially since students attending my school, Notre Dame Prep, come from all different cities, the drive back out to school for the game was always a convenient excuse not to attend.
Even with a slightly pessimistic approach for changing my school’s general attitude toward attending games for this year, I learned that with the help of other students and a lot of organization, the student section at NDP could be transformed from essentially non-existent to the place to be on a Friday night.
Aided by the success of our football team and a group of junior and senior boys who really started to embrace the idea of having a good student section, everything really started to pick up. We held weekly Varsity Club meetings to decide the theme for each game, and even formed a designated group of student section leaders called the Irish Guard, who are responsible for leading cheers and keeping everyone paying attention to the game. We also started to promote the games and the theme for each game on Twitter, which really helped remind students to come out to games and get excited to support our teams.
The NDP student section has by no means reached its full potential, but it is definitely moving forward and will only improve in the years to come. Despite the fact that our student section may not be the best in the state (yet) or even have enough organization to create an entry for this year’s BOTF competition, I think that our transformation truly shows that any school can create a thriving student section – if they really want it to happen.
Whether your school has an impressive student section or maybe needs a little help starting up, keep in mind that organization and positivity are the keys to making it better.
Click for more information on the Battle of the Fans contest. Deadline for school entries is Saturday.
Carly Joseph, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior
- Sport: Cross country
- Non-sports activities: Varsity Club, Spanish National Honor Society
- Favorite class: AP Spanish
- Up next: Joseph will attend Michigan Technological University and study biomedical engineering.
- Career sports highlight: Running a personal best at my cross country Regional (21:15) this fall.
- Pump-up jam: "Round and Round" by Imagine Dragons
- Must-see TV: "Dexter"
- Favorite film: "She's the Man"
PHOTO: The Pontiac Notre Dame Prep student cheering section roots on its football team during "Neon Night" this fall. (Photo courtesy of Carly Joseph.)
Century of School Sports: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 21, 2025
This week, the MHSAA and Farm Bureau Insurance are announcing the finalists for their 36th Scholar-Athlete Awards. From more than 1,500 candidates, 32 will be selected over the next few weeks to receive this prestigious award.
When the most recent class of winners is announced over three weeks next month, they’ll push the total to 992 who have been honored since the program began during the 1989-90 school year.
That fall, Vestaburg senior Jennifer Bissell and Unionville-Sebewaing senior Scott Kieser were presented with the first of these Farm Bureau-sponsored awards during the MHSAA Football Finals on Nov. 25, 1989, at the Pontiac Silverdome. Although several of the award program’s criteria have changed over the years, the mission has remained consistent: Highlight the value extracurricular activities – including athletics – play in the total education of a high school student, while recognizing that all-around achievement.
Applicants must be graduating seniors during the current school year, carry an unrounded 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average and have won a varsity letter in one of the 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Candidates are judged on their academic, athletic and other extracurricular accomplishments, plus community involvement and a short essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau has partnered on the Scholar-Athlete Awards from the start, awarding $1,088,000 over the first 35 years of recognition. Awards have risen in value from $500 to $1,000 to now $2,000, and 383 schools – more than half of the MHSAA membership – have produced at least one scholarship winner.
Those are just a few of the staggering numbers that have grown with the program over the years.
The first two years saw two award winners each season. In 1991-92, a change was made to award one winner per MHSAA-sponsored sport. In 2005-06, the program was expanded to its current 32 winners based primarily on school enrollment – six boys and six girls from Class A schools, four boys and four girls from Class B, three boys and three girls from Class C, and two girls and two boys from Class D schools, plus two honorees awarded at-large to minority recipients regardless of school size.
There have been 3,817 finalists, not including this year’s class. As noted above, 383 schools have produced a winner, but 624 had produced a finalist through 2023-24 – and although schools have closed or consolidated over the years, that still means that roughly 80 percent of MHSAA member schools over the last four decades have produced at least had at least one candidate advance to the final round.
Midland Dow has the most Finalists (38), while 113 schools have had at least 10. Birmingham Seaholm has set a single-year record this year with six finalists; five schools previously shared the record of five finalists for a single award season.
Eight schools have had 10 or more winners over the first 35 years. Okemos leads that parade with 13, followed by Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Hillsdale Academy with 12 apiece. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Midland Dow both have celebrated 11 winners, and Grosse Pointe South, St. Johns and Traverse City Central have produced 10 award winners.
Again, it cannot be overlooked the significance of Farm Bureau’s sponsorship and enthusiasm for this program – the 1.1 million dollars in scholarships speaks for itself, but also that a representative from Farm Bureau annually joins the MHSAA executive director in awarding those scholarships during a ceremony at Breslin Center on MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals weekend.
Also deserving of significant recognition are the judges who make this program a go every year. This year’s 1,513 applications were judged by a 65-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read