I used to argue the other side of this one. An administrator told me once about a lesson he learned in “administrator school,” or at some sort of professional development thing. Basically, it was this concept that a good start to the football season means a good start to the school year. Bah, humbug, I thought. Of course, I was the head baseball coach at the time, and not ready to admit another sport meant more to the school than mine.

It was a few years later, after a long run of bad teams, that I saw the difference at Hillcrest. We had a great football team for the first time in years, and boy, did the school pop with excitement and much more of that elusive “school spirit” thing. It was apparent to us all. Kids wore school colors, actually joined in the cheers at assemblies, and generally seemed more alert and happy to be in the building, even when they were doing math instead of chants.

Football can be the impetus for a better start to the year. It’s true. Something to rally around is always positive. While our student-produced TV show has received numerous national honors, and we have put Hillcrest on the map in new ways since we began in 1989, we are not a “school spirit” activity. Most things aren’t, really.

School spirit should not be confused with school pride, however. While only a few things, like football and basketball, and maybe even volleyball, can inspire kids to paint their faces and scream their lungs out at Hillcrest, there are many more activities that inspire and reflect school pride. We are proud of the band, which has a strong tradition on the Hill. We had a speech and debate team in years past that became known as one of the best in the nation. Our choir, our student council, our art students, they have all achieved recognition to be proud of through the years.

The challenge, it seems to me, is to find better ways to recognize, or at least advertise and publicize the accomplishments of the kids at school who don’t wear pads or uniforms with numbers on their backs.

Don’t get me wrong–I am rooting for our football players everytime they take the field. We need to celebrate their accomplishments. I just hope the kids cheering on the sidelines for them will hear some of those same cheers someday, when they write the winning essay, or excel at the academic contest, or get a “1″ rating at the state music competition. There’s enough pride to go around, I think. Surely there should be enough “spirit” to go around as well.