A Message from Aaron Hyman, Athletic Director

PARENTS, FANS, AND SPECTATOR EXPECTATIONS

The Western School Corporation Community has tremendous fan support! The atmosphere is engaging and professional toward our teams and our opponents. Although we already have an atmosphere of excellence; it is important to continue to build on our strengths. We believe that Championship Cultures focus on what they can control, prepare with excellence, and respond with competitive professionalism. Below are some ways you can assist when supporting Our Western Panthers at Home and Away events.

• Every Child must be Accompanied by an Adult: 
  All elementary and middle-school students and younger should be accompanied by an adult who stays for the entire contest. Students should not be running around and should sit in Western designated seating areas. Game events are not drop and go events, and parents/guardians should stay the entire time.
• No balls/playground equipment: 
  No balls or playground equipment are permitted at athletic events.
• No Free play: 
  Children are not permitted to play on adjacent fields, concessions areas, or in any area inside or outside the competition facility (lobby, hallways, walkways, fields, or bathrooms).
• Appropriate Spectator Locations: Please stay off the field or court unless given permission by the Event Supervisor. During the event, students should sit or stand in designated seating areas. Front row students should sit or stand on the bleachers. No standing on the GYM FLOOR. Staying off the floor allows for sufficient competitive gym/field space for the events and student-athletes.
• Break in the Action: Wait until play has stopped before moving TO or FROM your seat.
• Encouraging Comments: There isn’t a student-athlete or official who arrived wanting to have a moment of failure. Everyone wants to execute to the best of their abilities, but the human element of sport makes this an impossibility for the officials, coaches, and student-athletes.
• Be Supportive of Officials: A single team makes more mistakes in a game than any official does. Championship teams have the ability to play over a ‘call’ in a game. As fans of developing student athletes, our modeling behavior has a strong impact on their development.
• Consider Picking up Your Trash: We proudly host 350+ events each school year. While we have a tremendous custodial staff, the staff is small in numbers. One way to make their job more efficient is for us to respect our shared spaces. Anything we can do as a community to express respect and appreciation for our shared areas is appreciated. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at our events as we support all of our dedicated student-athletes.

Thanks again,

Aaron Hyman, Athletic Director