The Clarke student section is soon to be on the rise with the reformation of the Benchwarmers. With the rallying of more fans and encouraging student attendance the club intends on fostering a tighter-knit community of supporters for our student athletes.
Benchwarmers is a club that started before Anthony King’s freshman year in 2019, who is now organizing the revival. The club was designed to encourage students to attend sporting events to support Clarke’s student athletes. Unfortunately, when Covid hit and sports were shut down the club became inactive. After lockdown, when fans were allowed back at games, it was difficult to recruit members to come outside their comfort zones to lead the student section in cheering and bringing the energy.
This year, as coordinator of campus activities and leadership, King hopes to reignite the school spirit that he experienced and got to be a part of when he was a student and athlete on the football team at Clarke. By encouraging more students to be involved in school events and step outside of their comfort zones, he hopes to find a group of students who can be loud and rowdy to serve as the “hype crew” for games. The club’s goal is to attend big games, selected by coaches, and encourage a big turnout in the stands to support the Pride. The club would lead the student section in cheers and coordinate halftime activities, helping to foster an even more energized environment during gametime.
The club plans to expand beyond the Kehl Center gymnasium and into the baseball, softball, soccer, and football fields. By bringing larger crowds of students to gamedays, the Benchwarmers hope to continue to build a culture of supporting one another both and off the court or field.