Carlsbad High School takes immense pride in its spirited football games, but the production behind them goes unseen by many. Behind the scenes, ASB takes countless hours coordinating pep rallies and games to make it an unforgettable experience for the student body.
Senior Briggs Young, a first-year ASB member, discusses the hard work put into making the loud crowd better each game. Between pep rallies and field setup, he explains what a typical game week looks like for the majority of ASB members.
“We start prepping for games on Monday, and finish Friday before the game,” Young said. “Friday is our biggest prep day, we get here at 7:30 am, and don’t leave until about 10:00pm.”
First year ASB member Courtney Clemons explains how ASB experiences many struggles during the week leading up to the games, including last minute changes and difficulties with speakers and smoke machines. Facing each struggle requires teamwork, resilience and the ability to work calmly under pressure.
“We face many challenges while prepping for games, but luckily we have good staff that sorts things out right away,” sophomore Courtney Clemons said. “It is really hard to get everything right in set up, but it teaches us how to stay calm in stressful situations.”
To avoid these challenges, everyone has their own assigned roles. Some of these roles are handling C02 machines, managing music, loading the t-shirt cannon, blowing up balloons and making the balloon arch. This careful coordination that takes place behind the scenes allows for the night to be memorable for everyone there.
“There’s five different positions you can be assigned to,” Young said. “We each get our own role of what we are in control of for the week, and we report back on Friday to our teacher when it’s completed.”
ASB has three different time periods throughout the day. Some weeks, Young will spend the day on the field with the loud crowd, or some outside at the ticket booth. However, on gameday, everyone comes together to help where needed to ensure the night goes smoothly.
“We switch off weekly with shifts,” Young said. “There are before school shifts, brunch and lunch shifts, and after school shifts, then on game day it looks a little different with who does what.”
Through all the difficulties and chaos ASB faces, there have been many positive outcomes from them. They’ve improved their teamwork skills, dedication, problem solving and resilience. Their behind the scene work is a reflection on what makes these games so special for everyone, and showcases the commitment that defines Carlsbad spirit. It’s these efforts that keep CHS Friday football games truly unforgettable.
“The challenges we’ve faced in ASB and being a part of it has made me appreciate our school a lot more and everything they do for us,” Clemons said.
