An active and impressive student body at LHS
Standing on the home baseline to shoot photos at a rare home game for the Lovell High School basketball teams recently, I observed the huge squad of some 15 or so cheerleaders that spanned the opposite baseline to cheer for the Bulldogs.
It was an impressive sight, and while I often joke that I can’t “compete with the cheerleaders” as I photograph a basketball game and must wait until the second half to get my preferred position, the number of students participating on the cheer team was great to see.
And not only that, the students who participate are top notch. On Friday, the Lovell cheerleaders captured the Game Day Cheer division at the State Spirit competition in Casper for the third year in a row, this time in Class 3A, and the LHS dance team won the 3A Hip Hop dance competition. A huge salute to our cheer and dance teams and their coaches, who practice for hundreds of hours to perfect their routines.
From experience as the father of a former LHS dance team member, there’s nothing quite like the tension of waiting for the final scores to come in from judges at State Spirit – truly nerve-wracking.
Many schools in our area don’t even have a cheerleading squad or dance team, and it occurred to me that LHS must have an impressive percentage of students who participate in school sports and/or activities, especially during the winter when everything seems to ramp up. I guessed something like 90 percent.
I asked LHS principal Craig Lundberg what the numbers show, and he easily produced the figures since the school must report participation to the Wyoming High School Activities Association. The participation rate is outstanding: 183 out of 221 students at LHS participate in a sport and/or activity – 83 percent. (I was close.)
I then asked Principal Lundberg to break the numbers down by sport or activity, and of course many students participate in multiple things. But here’s what Craig produced: Boys Basketball -- 30, Girls Basketball – 21, Indoor Track – 15, Wrestling – 31, eSports – 10, Wyoming Academic Challenge – 15, Student Council – 15, National Honor Society – 31, FFA – 23, FCCLA – 22, SkillsUSA – 34, Cheer – 15, Dance – 14, Show Choir – 20, Choir – 16, Jazz Choir – 17, Band/Percussion – 25, Music Performance – 30.
Some students also swim or play soccer in Powell, participate in rodeo or compete in the state art symposium or in USA Wrestling after the high school season, create the yearbook, are active in church and various youth organizations, take music lessons, help with Lovell Rec programs, conduct food drives for the local food pantry, help with family life at home, work at the hospital or clinic and volunteer for various organizations and projects. And all of this while keeping up grades in school.
Frankly, I don’t see how many of our young people keep up with it all.
It also occurs to me that the school spirit at LHS is as high as it’s even been, with the student body filling the stands for home contests and even traveling to out-of-town events.
There are, no doubt, similar participation levels at Rocky Mountain High School, though as a smaller school RMHS might not have as many participation offerings.
There seems to be a common refrain among the older generation (like my age) that today’s kids don’t care or don’t get into things like they used to, but from what I have observed, the current generation is as active and engaged in their community and school as ever.
That certainly bodes well for the future.