By BRAD BAUGHMAN | For The Democrat
Sometimes one great idea spawns another and that is exactly what recently happened within the Brown County High School athletic department.
Last summer, the high school launched an athletic development program where high school student athletes were invited to attend two-hour morning sessions Monday through Thursday. The program was designed to improve individual strength, agility and conditioning for athletes — regardless of their sport affiliation.
Two of those athletes, incoming freshmen Madi Hawley and Ava Sanders, found the program to be very rewarding and ultimately were inspired to improve the school culture and bring more school pride to athletic events, said Athletic Director Mark Bruner.
“As an incoming freshman, that (development program) was very welcoming, and it made going into high school so much easier for me.
“It was very inclusive, so we wanted to build off that,” said Sanders about her summer experience.
Hawley and Sanders approached Bruner with a plan to change the “school spirit culture,” and the two students founded a new organization called The Way of the Eagle.
“They wanted to see more school pride, not only in the student section, but also with our athletic teams and community,” Bruner said.
“This movement is completely designed by students, led by students, and run by students.”
Carlie Salisbury is one of the coordinators of the athletic development program and faculty representative for the newly formed organization. Salisbury is also a physical education teacher at the high school.
“Ava and Madi are the driving force behind The Way of the Eagle movement. They saw a lack of enthusiasm amongst their teammates for the love of their sports, and they wanted to bring about improvements to increase morale and love of the game,” Salisbury said.
Sanders said the new organization wants to help students be proud of their school.
“We recognized there is a mentality problem within athletics. We kind of have this mentality that we are ‘just Brown County,’ where we need to flip that and be proud of who we are versus not being proud of who we are,” she said.
Around 50 student athletes showed up for the initial meeting of the new organization and that the group was extremely receptive to the idea of increasing school spirit. They provided a great deal of feedback concerning the direction of the program, Hawley and Sanders said.
One of the first priorities emerging from that meeting was to improve student attendance and spirit at home varsity basketball games.
“We saw a lack of attendance within sports,” Hawley said.
Because the girls basketball season had ended, the group focused on the remaining home varsity boys basketball games. Their efforts did not go unnoticed.
“I want to personally shout out to the student body. Their support of the team grew tremendously over the course of the year,” said varsity boys basketball coach Jacob Guernsey in an end-of-the-season interview.
While the short-term goal of putting a more raucous, energized student section together was met, the two believe there is much more to tackle, including addressing the problem of declining athletic participation numbers.
According to Hawley, one goal is “hopefully to get more students involved in athletics.”
Some sports have seen a noticeable drop in participation numbers. This past season, the boys basketball program had only 11 players on the roster, necessitating the cancellation of most of the junior varsity schedule.
Sanders attributes some of the low participation to COVID-19.
“I think COVID has a lot to do with everything, because everyone was kind of shut out, and everyone got independent. So, there was a lack of togetherness,” she said.
“I think there is a lack of students being aware and a lack of students being motivated,” Hawley added about the dwindling participation numbers.
Salisbury said she believes the group can positively address the decline in participation numbers.
“We are a small school, and that means we share our athletes with other teams and extracurriculars. This is our attempt to mesh a mindset and make school athletics something these students want to be a part of,” she said.
Though the movement is still in its infancy, Hawley and Sanders plan for the group to meet every Thursday during the Student Resource Time and will continue to ask for input from their fellow students.
Bruner said he likes what the group has done so far, but has a vision that reaches well beyond the walls of the high school.
“I would like to see this grow into a Brown County spirit movement that includes all athletes, all students K-12, all teachers K-12, and all community members,” he said.
A daunting task? Maybe. But the two freshmen appear poised to accept the challenge.
“They are leaders by nature and have taken on the responsibility to bring all of this about, with the end goal of leaving a legacy of athletic culture and pride for future Brown County athletes,” Salisbury said.
The Way of the Eagle mission statement sums up the group’s intent: “Our purpose is to ensure a positive, competitive and winning culture for all Brown County athletes. To promote engagement, involvement and pride within all extracurricular activities. Now let’s come together to spread our wings and soar.”
