Packed student sections, crazed fans, and consistent support at various games; these students are often referred to as the Hype Squad. These students continually present themselves to cheer on WS athletics.

The volleyball team has been gaining a lot of traction. With their growing popularity, the hype squads also attend to these games. This is great for the players as it shows that the students support the teams and their hard work.

However, there’s been a lot of controversy regarding the impact of these squads. It seems hard to believe that the student sections could be harmful to the volleyball games, but as of late, the Hype Squad seems to have gone too far.

When the volleyball team played Oakton, the student section stormed the court near the end of the game. This wasn’t unusual from the Hype Squad, as they had previously rushed the court in their other games, but the game wasn’t actually over. In volleyball, to win a set, the team has to win by 2 points and be the first to win by 25. During the match, WS reached 25, but had not yet won because of the 2-point-rule. Regardless, the student section stormed the court before the end of the game. As a result, the referees had to stop the game, direct the students back, and get everything back into order. To make things even worse, the team had a point deducted because of the hype squad’s careless actions. Then, the question arises if the Hype Squad is always beneficial to the team’s performance.

The Hype Squad can also produce excessive noise which distracts the volleyball players from performing at their highest level. The student section is supposed to help these players perform better, but once they become distracting, it becomes nothing but an issue. Simply put, the hype squad has to respect the game and the players and know when to restrain themselves.

The hype squad in one game also made negative comments towards the opposing team which has no place in a school environment. I mean come on, seriously? The fact that some students are bullying other players is ridiculous. Hype squads are supposed to create a positive environment for everyone at the game, not demean the other team.

The point here is not that the Hype Squad should not get excited and have fun, but they do need to remain at a certain level of respect, and maintain a degree of sportsmanship. Once the energy and the intensity of the Hype Squad reaches the point of berating opposing players and interfering with the teams’ ability to play, they need to tone it down and uphold a respectful, welcoming environment.

As great as the Hype Squads are to get everyone excited and into the games, they can reach a point of harm that exceeds their purpose. This involves their amount of noise that can interfere with different teams’ abilities to play However, with keeping in mind the respect of both the players and the game itself, Hype Squads are a great part of WS.