Woodrow Wilson High School will have their annual Homecoming game on 4 October 2024. Throughout the week students have prepared their spirits with different themed activities and dress-up days. The Homecoming game serves as the most important athletic event of the season. Football players, cheerleaders, lassies, and band students of all varieties have been working with extreme effort to guarantee a upmost successful match.
Of those eagles on the field, none feel more conviction than senior students. Apart from all previous Homecoming games, this singular competition will shape how they will be remembered. For them, it is not just a game but an emotional experience.
Landon Jones, an experienced football player of WWHS, reflects a deep sadness for his final Homecoming game. “I’m mostly sad this is the last Homecoming game but I’m looking forward to it! I’ve been watching films, getting my body right, and now know my assignments on the field.” For Jones, the team has become another family, growing bonds of brotherly love. “Our friendships are unbreakable and we always support each other no matter what.”
Another graduating football player, Nelson Staples, has served on the WWHS football team for the previous four years. Contrasting the emotional state of Jones, Staples has not yet reached a depressive status for the match. Instead, a physical preparation has taken root. “I’ve been practicing weekly, staying busy, and planning to stay a few steps ahead in the game. Me and the boys take the weight room very seriously.”
The feeling of sadness and pressure does not just touch the lives of the football team. A personal responsibility additionally shadows the cheer and lassie teams. Cheerleader, Kassidy Meadows describes the feeling of her last Homecoming game as bittersweet-sad but exciting. For the majority of her life, Meadows has had a deep passion for the art of cheering. To her it is not just the life of a performer, but a tool to help increase the spirit of the school. “[Cheering] has shaped me to have the most school spirit in every event. I enjoyed showing off my hard work at these games. It’s hard to perform sometimes but it all pays off.”
Tegan Sweeny has been dancing since childhood. Upon her ninth grade year at Woodrow, she joined the Lassies in performance across the field. Contrasting the feeling of nervousness, Sweeny could not be more excited for this match. “The atmosphere is different during a homecoming game. The student section is loud! So many people show up to support us.”
Woodrow Wilson High School’s Flying Marching Band will also be experiencing a major peak of responsibility. Members of the community will be stretching far and wide, watching the half-time performance of the competition show. For seniors, Kayleigh Basham and Caleb Duff this demonstration proves to be more than a chance for the city of Beckley to hear an awarded band, but to help prove that they leave a legacy. Basham and Duff mirrored each other as they spoke about how they felt about this last homecoming performance. “I‘m slightly sad. I’ve played in band the past three years, but I’m ready to see what the future holds,” Basham said. Duff also finds himself looking past his life as a member of the Flying Eagle Marching Band, ” It’s a bittersweet feeling. ” he said, “Homecoming was special to me and I’m gonna miss it, but I’m excited about the future.”
Join us in cheering on these amazing seniors and the rest of our Flying Eagles tonight, 4 October 2024, at 7:30 pm!
