What makes up the Ave Cave? As fellow SHS students, we all have somewhat of a responsibility to contribute to the community that IS Sycamore—a large part of this being participation in the Ave Cave. That contribution could be anything from dressing up for football games, being on the cheer team, playing in the marching band, or screaming our hearts out during the cheers. Ave Cave senior leaders Carly Thiel, Paige Harris, Seth Truter, and Keegan Burns, all work together to create this spirited environment for us all to enjoy.
Although chosen by last year’s Ave Cave leaders, most have been interested in the role since very early on. Truter said that “at the basketball games, [he] always ended up watching the leaders and it was super fun to see…to lead the student section is a fun opportunity.” Thiel said she “thought the Ave Cave leaders were so cool when [she] was a freshman” and talks about the impact they had on her school spirit. Through the years she learned that “you get what you put into it. If you’re just sitting there, it’s not fun” and that everyone is individually in control of their experience. Our leaders this year hope to increase sports game attendance as well as the Ave Cave social media platform. Although all of our leaders are involved in SHS sports (football, soccer, lacrosse, volleyball, etc.), it is not a requirement for the role. Despite the fact that football and basketball usually have the most student presence, there are so many different varieties of games/matches that are essential to support as an SHS student. For example, Truter said he personally “[loves] going to volleyball, because the games are always fun to watch and people show out.” Getting more people to come to support is a big goal for the leaders this year. All teams deserve some spirit and support shown to them. “This is something we wanted to do. We wanted all the sports to have people there so we’ve tried to go to all the sports we could” said Harris when asked about something they want to work on for this year’s seasons. Burns said showing up is important “to demonstrate how the students have a passion for our athletes,” which is a point of pride for SHS.
“We’ll definitely be bringing back some themes, but we also want to think of new creative ones because that gets people more excited to come and show support,” said Thiel. All that matters is to show up, even if not dressed all out. What are our leaders’ favorite themes? Here are their answers:
Carly – “Any goofy weird themes like Adam Sandler”
Paige – “Any excuse to wear my shark costume”
Seth – “White lies one is pretty cool”
Keegan – “Country because of these fire overalls that I have, my fit is fresh”
The Ave Cave is just one big family that we are all a part of whether we want to be or not. Anna Ralston, 12, secretary of Ave Cave, said “I love feeling like I’m contributing to our spirit, especially because it’s my senior year and the fact that I’ve alway wanted to help lead Ave Cave.” Encouraging the underclassmen to take part is a role SHS students adopt. Like Harris said, “It’s not supposed to be serious, it’s supposed to be fun. We want other people to enjoy it.” So whoever you are, wherever you are reading this right now, the leaders have one final message:
“Come to all the games! Be there or be square!”
