PARKER GURNETT
Staff Writer
When it comes to the Fredonia campus, it almost feels like home.
The small and quaint campus helps you feel comfortable and connected to fellow students. The same could be said about Fredonia sports.
Being a small Division III program on a little campus keeps many of the teams close-knit and connected. For this issue, we will be taking a dive into what being a part of the Women’s Basketball team means to its athletes, as well as how their relationship grows as a team at Fredonia.
When you think of a sports team, the term “family” typically comes to mind. That is exactly what the culture is like within the team.
The team supports each other just like any family would, and it helps the team greatly.
A common occurrence here at Fredonia is seeing full sport teams supporting other Fredonia teams at their home games. The teams do this for a variety of reasons.
“We want to support other teams in hopes that they will also support us when the time comes,” said Allie Wandell, a junior forward from Newark Valley, N.Y.
Wandell also mentioned that, “We love going to the men’s basketball games and starting chants in the crowds and doing celebrations together. It makes our team closer and it shows school pride.”
Teams support one another to also gain points for the “Devil-4-Devil initiative” according to women’s basketball Head Coach Sarah Cartmill. The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is composed of representatives from each team. The Devil-4-Devil initiative, “gives points to teams who attend their fellow Blue Devil home contests, which go towards an overall Blue Devil’s Cup award at the end of the school year,” said Cartmill.
Sometimes, the men’s and women’s teams travel together, which is great for bonding. “Traveling with the men’s team is great. I would say we are closest to them out of all other full teams on campus,” said Wandell.
Wandell continued, “Traveling with one another makes us closer because we are at each other’s games supporting. Both of our teams have great personalities, so we’re hoping they will join in on our bus karaoke this year.”
This time together helps build a strong relationship within the teams and corresponds to on-the-court support as well.
Typically, when you go to an athletic event on campus, you will see a wide variety of team coaches helping with other team’s games. This is because a number of head coaches have responsibilities to be the Administrator on Duty (AOD) for home contests and will help with staffing the game and organizing the staff and game-day operations, according to Coach Cartmill.
This is typical for many Division III schools.
However, many athletes also work for the school with jobs like “Ball person, stats keeping [and] running the scoreboard,” said Cartmill. This helps the team because typically athletes will cheer while working.
“I also think we are trying to make a difference as athletes at Fredonia because the past couple of years, a lot of our teams have experienced loss. This year, out of all the years I’ve been here, athletes are really contributing to support one another,” said Wandell.
Fredonia has been on the wrong side of the win column in years past, but many athletes are supporting each other more than ever and are therefore helping the sports culture be great at Fredonia, regardless of teams’ records.
Positive sports culture is the key to a successful sports team and the student athletes of the Fredonia State Blue Devils seem to be doing all they can to create this positive culture.