Last year, Norsemen Tide played a key role in promoting athletic events and getting students to participate. This year, the student section is headed by two new leaders, Seniors Cam Schafer and Nicole Troszak. The two are ready to support the athletic teams and bring even more excitement and energy to the games.
Having two leaders requires teamwork, according to Troszak, especially when it comes to communicating with fans and organizing themes for the games. Troszak says the two have been collaborating well.
“We pretty much do everything together,” Troszak said. “We both do social media, both do posts and both pick themes.”
Of these leadership tasks, Schafer’s favorite part about Norsemen Tide is connecting with fans and communicating with new people.
“There’s a lot of people I just haven’t really talked to before,” Schafer said. “I love supporting our school and I just love creating a good environment to help our student athletes.”
One of the main ways Troszak and Schafer reach out to teams and promote games is through social media. They contact members of each team when planning themes and communicate with fans by making posts to promote the games.
“We post on Instagram mainly,” Troszak said. “We’re [also] going to start posting on TikTok more.”
In addition to posting on social media, Troszak and Schafer are also working to involve more underclassmen in the student section, urging them to attend games and participate in the themes so the program can grow.
“A lot of freshmen have been participating, which has been a help,” Schafer said. “My sister is a freshman so I also talk to her [and] say ‘Hey get your friends to the game, because once you guys are seniors you’re gonna know how to handle the ropes’.”
Troszak and Schafer are also making sure the student section is staying respectful, according to Junior Iliana Nezeritis, who believes Norsemen Tide is continuing to promote the same energy as last year, while also following the rules.
“We’re being a lot more respectful of what our school wants us to do but we’re also having a lot more fun at the same time,” Nezeritis said.
Not only are they connecting with each other, the athletic teams and other students, Troszak and Schafer are also working with Athletic Director Michelle Davis to lead the student section and gain support for the athletes. Davis says they have been meeting regularly to discuss plans for the games.
“We have had more meetings this year than in years past and I hope to keep the lines of communication open,” Davis said. “We have also been working together to provide spirit products for future games and I am always open to new ideas to bring together the student body and showcase our Norsemen spirit.”
Through their collaboration with Davis, Troszak and Schafer plan to use their new ideas at the North-South football game, where they hope to create a memorable event.
“We’re really planning a lot for [the] North vs. South [game], so that’ll be a thing to come [to],” Troszak said.