The fall sports season at Plymouth High School kicked off in Big Red style on Wednesday evening with the school’s first annual athlete meet and greet. Athletes and coaches from nearly every fall sport were present to introduce themselves to the community and encourage attendance at their upcoming games.
Janelle Grube, advisor for Plymouth High School’s student council, said parent Amy Elliott first came to her with the idea of a meet and greet last spring.
“All the time you see somebody in the stands asking, who’s number 54? I’ve heard of other schools doing it and thought it would be really neat for our kids and this community to see that,” said Grube.
Plymouth High School’s gymnasium hosted approximately 200 guests from the community to meet the varsity football, volleyball and cross country teams as well as the flag corps, the majorettes and the cheerleading squad. Names of the varsity golf team were read, as the team could not be present Wednesday night.
“The fans and community members will see some faces to go along with names they might see in the newspaper or on the playing field,” said Athletic Director Andrew McFarland. “It’s going to be sort of a community pep rally is how I would describe it.”
The Plymouth High School band provided a fitting soundtrack to the evening with a number of Big Red fight songs as each team introduced themselves. Coaches spoke of the pride they had in their athletes’ hard work and their excitement for the upcoming season.
“The number one thing we need to talk about tonight is how hard these guys work,” said Mark Genders, varsity football coach. “Being a football player is not an easy task, with the time demand and all the things I demand from these guys. This team has come a long way. They know now it’s time for the Big Red to rise this season. We’re going to make the Big Red faithful proud of us this year.”
Jason Rowe, whose daughter, freshman Maggie Branham, plays volleyball, said he appreciated the chance for the fans to familiarize themselves with athletes they may recognize later on.
“Everybody gets to meet everybody and know who the actual players are,” he said.
Grube noted with the outstanding turnout Wednesday evening, student council will plan a meet and greet for Plymouth’s winter and spring sports athletes.
“It’s a great idea,” said Superintendent Dr. James Metcalf. “Any time we can get people out to see the kids and cheer them on for good seasons and to be successful is a great thing to do.”
McFarland added the meet and greet was a great way to solidify the school’s relationship with its community and fans.
“If it wasn’t for (the community) attending different events and coming out buying tickets and programs, who knows, with what the cost and expenses it takes to run athletics now we might not even have sports programs. We definitely value the relationship with the community and the fans that we have.”
