School spirit at Townsend Harris High School is strong in various ways – students take pride in their academic excellence, honor their traditions, and consistently foster a strong sense of community. While speaking to The Classic, numerous Harrisites suggested that students do not always show the same sense of school spirit for student athletes and PSAL sporting events at THHS.
Responding to similar concerns, students have taken matters into their own hands. At the start of this past school year, a group of students launched the “Townsend Harris Athletic Association” with the goal of promoting and bringing awareness to the sports teams and student athletes at THHS. Co-leader of the group Tabassum Ahmed said, “In doing this, we hope to foster a sense of community to our school, encourage school spirit as well as provide more support for our sports teams.”
“There are moments of enthusiasm around school events, and in these moments, it’s really exciting to see our community come together to support one another,” said Tabassum. “However, moments like these are rare, especially surrounding our sports teams. It’s very disappointing to see events that have been promoted, such as sports games, lack attendance and energy.”
Townsend Harris Athletic Association co-leader Jordan Tsao said, “In order to increase school spirit, we will host sports-related events, such as turkey trots, have spotlights on athletes and coaches to show achievements and appreciation, organize media days to showcase our athletes and our teams, have fundraising efforts to support teams needs for equipment, as well as hold alumni events. To increase fan attendance at games, we plan to promote games through social media more effectively, hold themed games, such as white-out, or pink-out.”
“There is definite school spirit and fan engagement for the bigger teams like basketball and volleyball, but not as much attendance for less well known teams,” said Athletic Director Jennifer Johnson, while recognizing the many students who act as assistants, managers, and scorekeepers for all teams. “As an example, I have coached the Girls Varsity Bowling team for two years and the team has made it far into the playoffs, but we rarely have spectators, which is a shame because we have some talented bowlers, and the matches at Jib Lanes are close to school and lots of fun.” Ms. Johnson also pointed out that The Classic doesn’t usually cover the less well-known teams either, which she believes may potentially help as well.
When discussing the issue, Assistant Principal of STEM and Boys Varsity head coach Abid Choudhury emphasized the bigger picture. “Taking time to attend a game, cheer for classmates, or follow our teams is a powerful gesture of unity,” he said. “It shows that we value all aspects of the student experience, not just academic success. Plus, the energy of a crowd has a way of making student-athletes feel seen and valued, which can be incredibly motivating.”
Ms. Johnson said, “We could do a better job of advertising the games and schedules. The teams usually make a morning announcement, but I think we should be posting schedules in the school, on Instagram, etc. so we can really pack the stands.”
Health & Physical Education teacher and Girls Varsity Badminton head coach Gabriela Pedreros said, “[Showing support for teams] gets us involved in athletics, which helps us build an even bigger value towards physical activity and sports. Being a fan generates a greater community, especially when you show up to cheer on your friends. If I show up for a game where you’re playing, for example, then you will likely make that space to come and cheer me on in the future with an activity that I am doing, which creates better bonding in the community.”
Student athletes agreed that fan presence at home games does shape their performance and team morale. “It adds a whole new layer to competing,” said Boys Varsity Volleyball senior captain Elijah Shivers. “Knowing that a good portion of your school is watching and cheering you on just builds motivation to compete harder and win. When there is a crowd it makes me feel like I need to put on a show and perform better than I normally would.” Meanwhile, Boys Varsity Basketball senior captain Sebastian Morales said, “When our games have high crowd attendance, our team plays noticeably better. Not only do we all play better individually, but collectively we play as a team which helps us win games by way more.”
Despite this, however, both students agreed that while increased fan attendance does push them to play better, a lack of it does not necessarily lead to deteriorated performance. “It is something that we are already used to from the past couple of years,” said Sebastian.
Many Harrisites said they consider the academically demanding nature of THHS as a key factor in limiting fan attendance. “Unfortunately, due to how academically rigorous our school is, people would much rather go home to study than stay at school and watch a game,” said senior Loise Arcega.
Ms. Pedreros said, “Students are either playing other sports, involved in clubs and programs, or changing the world in their own ways after school, which is amazing. We want them to do all of those things and understand that we are at academically high and rigorous school, but also wish we would make more time to show up for each other.”
When asked what initiatives could be taken to boost fan attendance moving forward, some suggested implementing a reward system, while also highlighting the limitations of such reinforcement methods. “I think having more events included with games and giving students extra credit if they attend games would motivate more to come,” said Loise. She noted a THHS pep rally and homecoming as examples of this, while recommending that more emphasis is placed on making senior nights special. “Hopefully this would make students want to willingly watch games without some sort of reward, embedding school spirit into Townsend Harris culture.”
“Student athletes spend so much time practicing and preparing for their games to represent Townsend Harris, and it could be disheartening when this dedication is not recognized by the student body,” said Tabassum. “Something as little as showing up to a game for five minutes and cheering a team on is able to boost morale and build a sense of unity and pride within all of Townsend.”
