Cheerleaders, Flames, Band Members Excited

The first home football game is tomorrow, which means that the first pep rally is also tomorrow. The theme is Hawaiian and the spirit program hopes to see everyone in their Hawaiian gear at the pep rally!

“Typically, the band will play some songs, the cheerleaders will dance, we’ll perform our routine, the mascots do a skit, the flames dance, and some sort of motivational speech is given,” cheer captain Tiana Guerra said. “Everybody plays a part in supporting the team.”

Pep rallies are a longstanding tradition in Lampasas, usually lasting for about 35 minutes. The tradition was started to raise school spirit in anticipation of the following game. 

“School spirit is really important,” Guerra said. “We really want to get everyone excited and hyped for the game. Everyone has more fun and the team will be more encouraged.”

This year, instead of cheering on the hardwood floor, the cheerleaders will perform on 9 strips of blue mats. The mats are softer and act as a cushion on the hard floor.

“The mats are being put out this year as a safety precaution,” Guerra said. “We stunt on the mats at practice, and now we will stunt on mats at pep rallies. Safety is our number one priority and we want the pep rally to go off without a hitch.”

The Flames also perform at pep rallies, but their big performance is during halftime of the football game. They also practice their performances, usually during their dance period. 

“We practice every day during class and after school,” Flame Kaitlyn McCann said. “We learn our routine and then practice and drill it so we’re sharp and we know the dance. We tryout for each dance and then we clean the routine.”

One of the football team’s biggest supporters is the Badger Band. The band practices everyday after school and during school. They play at pep rallies and at games. The band plays a large part in the spirit program.

“The band practices 4 days a week after school for games, pep rallies and half time performances,” senior Miguel Cazares said. “Pep rally walk-ins and such are tradition, so older band members already know how to do everything and can teach newer members.”

Every part of the spirit program works hard to put on a show and get the crowd involved. Each program dedicates time and effort to make the pep rallies successful.

“We perform to get the crowd pumped up and to showcase our skills to the school,” McCann said. “The best part is the energy we receive back from the crowd when we perform.”

 

Students Plan Outfits

Tomorrow’s dress up and pep-rally theme for the first varsity football game is Hawaiian Luau. All teachers and students are able to wear school-appropriate outfits to go with tomorrows theme.

“I am so excited to dress up for the Hawaii theme tomorrow and that I get to be a part of another pep rally here at LHS,” Dollars and Sense teacher Blake Webb said. “Even though I am on the other side as a teacher now, I’ll still be cheering just as hard and singing the school song even louder while being all dressed up!”

Freshman Carter Johnson plans to wear a Hawaiian shirt tomorrow along with junior Peyton Underwood to show school spirit.

“I like how the high school does little themes like this for the home games because it’s different and fun,” Johnson said. “I’m also excited to see how much different the high school pep-rallies are from the middle school ones. Go Badgers!”

Other students plan to dress up tomorrow but have not yet figured out their luau outfits for the day.

“I’m not sure what I plan to wear yet,” senior Makenzie Joy said. “But I am definitely going to throw some-sort of Hawaii themed clothes on. Tonight I am going to go grab a cute shirt or something to go along with everyone else. I think it’s cute what this school does on pep-rally days and I’m here for it.”