Carlsbad High School spirit begins before freshman year

Multiple CIF winning sports teams and nationally ranked programs for broadcasting, speech and debate and dance are just a few of the reasons Carlsbad High School has an exuberant amount of school spirit. But Purple Pride is not limited to just CHS students. Thanks to an initiative taken by Carlsbad High’s Associated Student Body (ASB) students, kids have the opportunity to feel like they’re a part of the student body before the first day of freshman year.

Starting on April 14 and continuing through June 9, ASB is working with the Boys and Girls Club of Carlsbad by coming in during after-school care hours every monday to teach the elementary and middle school aged kids about the various aspects of Lancer life. Carlsbad High School students participating in this program include football players, members of CHS’s spirit squad: the Loud Crowd, as well as a few other groups. A notable speaker at these events who gets the kids excited about Lancer life is the school’s mascot: Lance Lancer.

“The plan is to just go in and show these kids what Lancer Spirit is all about,” Lancer said. “We just really want to implement the love for purple. Show these kids that we are pure spirit, we are Lancers, we are Carlsbad.”

The program is in its trial stages this year. Next year it aims to run the entire course of the year and bring in more groups, including a wider variety of sports teams and incorporating students from the arts and various clubs around campus. They also want to continue to bring the maximum amount of spirit by bring in new cheers to build off of the ones CHS is already known for like the “Go Bananas!” cheer often heard at Lancer sporting events.

“ASB this year is doing this program just to give the kids a taste,” junior Shelby Lee said. “We want to do a school-wide collaboration with the organization next year, if we can. We’re looking for the next generation of Lancers.”

The goal of this program is to show prospective students all that CHS has to offer. No matter what interests them, there is a team, class or club specializing in it. With the opening of Sage Creek High School last fall, Carlsbad is no longer the only choice for students in the area to attend high school. While both schools have plenty to offer to their student bodies, ASB wants to showcase to the students at the Boys and Girls Club all the benefits that come with being a Lancer.

“We just want the kids to know how great it is to be a Lancer,” junior Sarah Lang said. “Sage Creek is also a great school, but we just want to do our part to at least display what Carlsbad has to offer.”

While a large part of the program is pumping-up the kids about life at Carlsbad High School the program also keeps in ordinance with the values of the Boys and Girls Club. ASB students encourage kids to “reach their full potential as productive,  caring, responsible citizens,” by setting a good example and showing them the productive activities they can be involved in during high school so they don’t turn to destructive ones instead.

“The Spirit Crew wants to show these kids that we can all come together,” Lancer said. “Regardless of race, gender, school you attend or any petty difference like that, we want them to share the experience of mutual support and love for all of their peers. If we can teach them that by wearing purple and screaming about bananas, it seems to me like a job well done.”