By Maria Braga ’24
It’s a warm fall night, there are people chanting and giggling all around you. Everyone is holding up posters and dressed in a special theme. It’s time for the weekly Friday Night Lights football game. But it is not in Beverly since we do not have stands in our field.
Night games are a staple in the lives of many high school students. From football to soccer, students and parents love to get together to cheer on their friends and family. Not only are the games fun, they also bring the community together. Getting many people to all be in the same place is usually difficult, but the excitement of games makes it easy. Also, after the past two and a half years, social interactions have not been as frequent. Many high school students who are about to graduate did not even get a chance to experience many games before COVID-19 was a worry. At sporting events such as football, soccer, and field hockey games, many people do not come because they do not want to stand in the grass for two hours. Compared to the basketball games, the games during both the fall and spring seasons are not as popular.
Ryder Frost (junior), a varsity basketball starter at Beverly High School, was able to give some great insight on how impactful supporters are in games.
Q: How does the fan squad of Beverly positively affect you at games?
Ryder: I think the fan squad for basketball overall is a great thing that comes with playing at Beverly. Whether it’s a big game and lots of people show up or whether it’s just a normal conference game, there are always people there supporting us. And it’s good knowing that people from the school that are in your classes and people that you know want to see you play. The fans can make us want to go harder or really help us when it’s a home game. And even when it’s an away game, having the fans travel with us is something that I don’t take for granted. Not having fans during the COVID year took a lot of the fun out of playing and really took away from the high school experience. So overall I think that the Bev Fan Squad has just been great for me and my teammates during our years here.
Q: Have you been to any of the BHS football games? Does it feel any different compared to basketball games?”
Ryder: I feel bad but I haven’t been to any of the football games this year. I went to a couple last year and they were only Friday night games. I think it really stinks that there aren’t lights at Hurd so we can have Friday night games and I feel for the football players because playing on a Friday night in my eyes is just different than playing on a Saturday afternoon. But for me personally, I think it’s tough to go to Saturday games with different things going on in my life. I love when I do go to the games and I truly think a lot more people would go if there were stands at the turf or lights at Hurd. When I do go to the games, I think it’s pretty similar to the basketball games because usually it’s a Friday night and there’s lots of people and everyone is excited to be there. It’s similar in that people are energetic, and they all want to see their friends and classmates succeed. And I think that’s similar to the basketball games.
Q: For athletes, do you think they perform better with having a group of support?
Ryder: 1000% yes. Having a home court advantage definitely plays a role in how well we do or how much fun it is to play. When there are fans to back us up when we play, especially if we aren’t playing well or we’re getting tired, it definitely affects us in a positive way. Seeing people come to the student section or seeing parents that I know from around the town makes me feel good before a game, and seeing them after a game is really a good feeling. Having students and families come see us and cheer us on makes us want to go harder and overall just have more fun playing the sport.
From an athletic standpoint, support not only makes players feel better, but it also makes them perform better. Clearly these responses prove that stands would be a great option to have at our school. The high school experience is wonderful for those who want to enjoy going to games and want to make their friends and family feel appreciated and seen.
When asked about their opinion on having stands at the Beverly High School turf, students were in agreement over wanting to have them. The student body had many reasons such as, “It would encourage more people to come to our sports games so we’ll have a more fun school environment” and also touched on other points like how the turf was redone recently. “Because the field was redone, it just feels like that should be where outdoor sports play. While Hurd is big, it’s old and there is not a lot of parking.” Most respondents had very similar opinions; that having stands would increase school pride, and also that we look less competitive than other high schools in the North Shore, were the main ones.
With many different opinions between students in all aspects of life and education, we can all agree on one thing: we want bleachers at Beverly High School! An increased support of sports teams, the marching band, and all who demonstrate their skills at the Beverly High School turf will be beneficial to the environment of the school and gives students a chance to come together at a place that is more accessible to everyone.
