Column: Homecoming season unites families, community
School spirit is not so much in the mascot or the pep rally or the fight song.
It’s about who shows up to the games.
Other than looking for parents in the stands, our high school athletes are also scanning the crowd for friends, neighbors, teachers, boyfriends and girlfriends, grandparents and cousins or that classmate in Algebra I. For any athlete on any team, it’s an emotional boost to see a familiar face showing up.
What a sight to see the bleachers full.
What music the clapping makes.
Homecoming is the pinnacle of this support. For weeks—even before the start of the school year—staff, coaches, students and parents prepare for a dedicated week that honors longtime traditions and deepens pride for the school communities we call home.
Families unite here. Teachers build careers here. Students dream here. High school is paramount in self-discovery and ambition, why wouldn’t we stand by any teenager’s side to sing their fight song along with them?
“High school athletics are all about camaraderie. ”
“High school athletics and activities are all about camaraderie,” said Jefferson High School football coach Vince Benedetto.
The Cavaliers will host their homecoming week Sept. 30 through Oct. 4. The Lincoln Patriots will, too.
Jefferson is newer to the Sioux Falls School District, and Benedetto said they are still working to build community. It’s like the first day of school for a long time: Acclimating in the hallways, getting to know staff and breaking in football turf.
Homecoming enriches all of that.
Benedetto said teachers and students enjoy their dress-up days for homecoming week and decorate classroom doors based on themes. He said his football team is establishing a new tradition called the Parent Sticker Ceremony, where Mom and Dad or grandparents or guardians or a friend who’s been by the quarterback’s side since day one come to the first scrimmage of the season to put the stickers on their athlete’s helmet.
“That has a lot of meaning for us,” Benedetto said.
Those are traditions alumni will pass down someday.
Traditionally, homecoming week for high schools in the U.S. is an opportunity every fall to “welcome home” alumni. These are advocates for a school that was once theirs, who still show up today because they are proud of where they came from. Maybe they want to uphold traditions. Maybe they want to hang on to a strong sense of identity. Maybe their own kids are there now.
Maybe they know what it feels like to see you waving in the stands.
Washington, the centenarian of public high schools in our community, will be the first to kick off homecoming next week, with powderpuff football on Sept. 17, volleyball on Sept. 18 and the football game on Sept. 20. The Warriors will play RC Stevens at Howard Wood Field, and the homecoming dance will be afterward.
Of course, among Washington and Jefferson, Lincoln and the Roosevelt Rough Riders, homecoming royalty will be crowned during coronations, a longtime tradition for the senior class. You’ll get to see the winning king and queen at all four football games on their respective Friday night games. Stick around to watch them wave from the middle of the field. Stand and clap when they are announced. What an honor for a 17-year-old in our community.
There is so much pomp and legacy in our school district. Listen quietly on Friday nights this fall, I bet you’ll hear the band. Get on the edge of town, I bet you’ll see our Friday Night Lights.
Better yet, be there. Enjoy the hot dog. Thank the boosters. Stay till the end. A school thrives best when its community is present, united and rallies for one another. It’s not just a football team or a school band or cross-country runners every fall. It’s one jersey. It’s one corner of Sioux Falls with the same colors on. Wear yours!
“We’ve got spirit, yes, we do! We’ve got spirit, how ’bout you?”
Let’s get out there.
