Get your own Free Home PageFirst of all, let me make something clear. I’m a cheerleader. I like Smith and I’m proud of it. Now on to the story.
What is Eagle pride? It’s a feeling that one has about this school. Unfortunately, too few students have it because of their opinion of the Smith as a whole. Many students would rather be at another school.
Most people want to be associated with a winner. With one major exception -- the 1996 boys’ basketball team -- Smith has struggled in the classroom and on the athletic fields in recent years. This has not always been the case. In the 1960s and early ’70s, Smith was a team to be feared. The 1974 football team made it to the state 4-A championship game before losing 14-7 to Sanford.
Ten years ago Smith often competed with the best on the playing fields and made the playoffs in several sports.
This year our dynamic performance in football very nearly earned us a spot in the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Coach Tony McKee was named as coach of the year for Guilford County and for the Piedmont Triad Conference.
It took the football program 10 years to get this far. In 2008-2009 I predict that we will be conference champs and have a state-of-the-art fieldhouse for our winning team.
"I think Smith will be successful in 10 years if there is not a huge shakeup in the coaching staff," said Casey Johnson, a senior who played football last fall. "This year I believe was the beginning of a dynasty."
Athletic success can promote school wide sprit.
"I feel that better athletics will enhance school sprit which would cause more girls to come out for cheerleading," said Tamela White. "A strong football team may even have more girls try out for cheerleading.
In recent years only about 40 girls come out the first day of cheerleading tryouts. That number decreases each day during the week of tryouts. It has been seven years since Smith’s varsity cheerleaders participated in Cananam, which is a national cheerleading competition.
"I think the interest in cheerleading has gone down because people think cheerleading is not a sport and not worth their time." said Britan Beasley, a former Smith varsity cheerleader who participated in Cananam.
"I think in a couple more years, school spirit may decrease drastically if the student body does not develop better school pride." said Ebony Keith, a Smith junior varsity cheerleader.
"School spirit is critical to the success of the whole school," said junior varsity basketball coach Derrick Johnson, who went to Page in the 1970s. "The relationship between the success we had at Page and our overwhelming school spirit was obvious to anybody."
Of course, it helps to have successful teams. The girls basketball team, the football team and cross country team all had excellent seasons this year. That’s not enough, though.
"I think that if Smith wins games and is successful, then the spirit will grow," said junior Margaret Free. "But if they don’t win the spirit will die."
Smith needs an injection of big-time school spirit. If students attend a school they really like, it will improve the educational environment. Disrespect, a major problem, will die.
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