Shouting and rallying the crowd, the new Hype Crew Captains will be taking the field at next year’s sporting events, spreading cheer and leading the crowd in chants.

The Hype Crew Captains will appear at the four football home games and the Skokie Scrimmage, a football game against crosstown rivals, Niles North, and at one game for every sport. According to Student Activities Director Caitlin Lucci, they will have a variety of responsibilities to increase the student presence at sporting events.

“We want our student leaders this year to facilitate a naming contest with the student body so we can name the student section, which a lot of colleges do. Then, we want to set all of the themes for the home games before the season starts so there’s no confusion. We also want to collaborate with the athletic social media interns so that we can grow our presence on social media and make kids excited leading up to game night. We want our student leaders to be truly leading the crowd and working with cheerleaders to bring that energy and bring the hype,” Lucci said.

Junior and football player Ian Drummond is excited to see how the crowd reacts to the new hype captains.

“If they really do help get the crowd more hype, it’ll make the games more exciting. Being out there on the field will mean so much more with a loud crowd. When I’m out there playing, it’ll feel more real and important,” Drummond said.

Certain students have pointed out the similarities between the hype leaders and cheerleaders, including cheerleader and sophomore Lucy Clarke, who’s worried about it taking away the spotlight from cheerleaders.

“It just feels kind of weird that there are going to be all these new people on the field with a similar job to us. It may just get the crowd more confused, rather than excited,” Clarke said.

While some cheerleaders are concerned, Lucci emphasized the need for collaboration between groups, not competition.

“We’re not going to step on anyone’s toes, we just want to collaborate and work together so hopefully they can teach us some cheers that we can use so the cheerleaders have a part and the fans have a part. They can have their moment to shine and we’re not trying to infringe on that, we just want to work collaboratively,” Lucci said. “I feel like sometimes I’m at games and kids are like, what do we do, so I just want to make that more clear and be unified and rally behind the teams so they feel our support.”

West is planning to bring out Hype Crew Captains next year to bring the school together with spirit and positivity, attempting to make Niles West a better and more unified place.