There are many inevitable downsides to being an athlete at Stuyvesant: the lack of a field, the tough commute to away games, balancing work and practice. But there is one thing that can be changed: school spirit.
School spirit is pride in your school and support for its teams. Stuyvesant already has a “Spirit Week” when the football players and cheerleaders exchange gifts in the days before homecoming, but this event only includes two tiny communities in Stuyvesant. Most home games for Stuyvesant teams have a very limited fan base and do not get the same home field advantage that their opponents hold.
The lack of school spirit is not a simple problem to solve and no one solution will make Stuyvesant the Permian High of Manhattan. However, the smallest of changes could enliven the atmosphere and provide support to hardworking student athletes. Here are a few suggestions.
• Decide on one nickname for all the teams.
Members hold a great deal of pride in their team names, despite how non-traditional some are, such as the Ballerz, Mimbas or Vixens. Many like the individuality of their own team’s name. But the idea is to unite the school, not divide. So it may be a good idea to have one united moniker.
Historically, Stuyvesant teams were known as the Peglegs. The name makes Stuyvesant unique and comes with a century of history and tradition. But today, only the football team has adopted the name. Instead of requiring teams to bear the nickname of a crippled governor, there can be nominations and a school-wide vote. Then all athletes can proudly say, “I’m a Pegleg,” as opposed to now, when a football, basketball and baseball player may say, “I am a Pegleg in the fall, a Runnin’ Rebel in the winter and a Hitman in the spring.”
• Allow for attendance at home games or homecoming to make up for lateness in physical education class.
Nothing makes Stuyvesant students go to something more quickly than tying it to a report card grade, and I bet more than half of Stuy students have never been to even one game. Volleyball team coach and physical education teacher Phil Fisher already requires students in his volleyball class to attend at least one girls’ varsity volleyball game.
Over half of the teams play either in school or within a mile. Spending an extra hour or two after school twice a term is not much of a task, especially considering how many hours all players put into their seasons.
• Stuyvesant could establish a field day that would rival SING! in a fight for class supremacy.
SING! is great because grades compete against one other. If there were a field day that would include inter-class games, then SING! would have an athletic counterpart that would increase student participation in sports. There would be several events like softball or basketball, which would be scored. In the end, the grade with the highest number of cumulative points would win. Stuyvesant already enjoys intramural sports, evident by the successful annual student-faculty basketball games, which students are very eager to participate in and attend.
These changes can weave a tighter Stuyvesant community and improve how students view the student-athletes who work hard for Stuyvesant outside of the classroom the same way all students work inside the classroom. The extra support from a strong fan base could even lead to a few more championship banners each year.
