While it’s no surprise that our CHS student section is filled with lots of school spirit, some believe this support has turned from waving proud pom poms for our crew to stabbing the other team in the back, raising the question whether our avid supporters benefit the overall experience and performance of our players or hurt them. 

“I think number one, [fans] provide extra motivation for [our athletes],” CHS Assistant Athletic Director and Dean of Students, Jason Morris said. “When you have people behind you and rooting for you, it tends to make you want to compete that much better, and it just provides an overall better atmosphere, especially when they’re your peers and students.” 

When stepping in the shoes of a parent, student athlete, or fan, it feels belittling when coming to support the school, and the other team’s student section is yelling discouraging and mean things.

“It could certainly have an unpleasant effect when our guys or girls are on the road playing at other schools,” Morris said. “If that student section is saying something negative about our players, that could affect them as well.”

Chelsea is a very connected community with many opportunities to gather and support each other. This is especially evident in our athletics. Our past success in different competitions has helped to encourage the community to rally and get passionate about our sports, which in turn, really excites and motivates our players now. 

“If you go back and you walk through the gym and you look at our record boards, we can see that all of our teams have had some kind of success over the years,” Morris said. “And so it becomes part of the culture. And when you have a part of the culture, people want to compete. People want to be a part of it, and that’s what leads to the successes that we’ve had.”