Administration has decided to change the aspect of the 026 Army Generals for the 2024-25 school year. Head boys varsity soccer coach Thomas Wade has picked 2 senior girls, Avery Hoffman and Mackenzie McClanahan, to be generals based on who he thought would bring positive spirit to the school. Meanwhile, the generals from last year passed down their leadership role to seniors Carter Warren and Austin Althoff. Wade said the reason behind the alteration was to shift the way students’ are cheering on their team back to a positive manner.
“Everything with the 026 Army was going great until Covid, and then when we came back from Covid, things took a turn for the worse, and students kind of lost the purpose of cheering. It came into more negative chirping, and the focus was on being disrespectful, and that’s not why I created the 026 Army in the first place. It was to honor and respect our school, our community, and our soccer team. Not disgrace it,” Wade said.
The tradition for Army Generals has always been that the generals from the previous year pass down their role to student(s), typically seniors, granting them the leadership as general. Warren said the tradition should remain the same.
“I think it’s good. I think we should keep it the same way it’s always been for the past three years,” Warren said.
McClanahan said that the modification had potential to be constructive, but it may not have been executed properly.
“I believe that if it was used in the right way it could have [made the students more spirited], but as of right now I think there’s division between everybody and they all want it separate ways, and I think if there was more communication or more agreement then it would benefit,” McClanahan said.
Hoffman said the roles are split between each of the generals, some having more authority than others, but as an alternative, she has goals for the games.
“Carter and Austin have the majority of the power, the rest of us are just kind of on standby. We’re the alternates, [and] my main goals as an alternate general are to keep everybody engaged in the games, cheers, cheerleaders, and just really make sure that everybody continues to show up to games all year, and not just the first games,” Hoffman said.
Althoff said that there’s a chance the adjustment could be successful.
“Yes, I think it could help [the students be more spirited], and I think it could help get everyone involved, possibly,” Althoff said.
Wade said that his end goal is to build a supportive section that people enjoy.
“Anytime you have good leaders, and you create an organization that people want to be a part of, and it celebrates your community and school in the right way, then that’s good for everybody,” Wade said.
