Each year, when basketball season rolls around, the senior class is presented with a right of passage: blue crew jerseys.
The blue crew jerseys are unique to each senior who orders one. The seniors get to pick the name on the back of their jerseys and the number associated with it. Out of those chosen many names on the back have a comedic value that coordinates with the senior’s nicknames or last name.
Senior Belle Bormann, a student section leader took on the task of ordering 99 jerseys for the student section. “It did become a little difficult getting everyone’s names and number down,” Bormann shared. The senior had to gather everyone’s information, turn the names in to get approved and order, as well as hand out the jerseys.
Each name that goes across the back of the navy jerseys must be approved by the athletic director D’Anne Kroemer. “Typically the students do a great job of reviewing names and telling their classmates what will and will not be approved for the jerseys”, Kroemer said. While the jerseys are supposed to be humorous, they must follow school policies.
The jerseys are a way to recognize the seniors of the section. “I think it’s a really cool way for us to separate our grade and have spirit because no other school does anything like this,” Bormann said. The jerseys are worn to every basketball game along with whatever theme the section has decided to take on.
The generations before have lined the student section in their blue crews, Kroemer who has been with the district since 2013 has seen and even taken part in the long-standing tradition. “My fourth year with the district the seniors got me a Blue Crew with the nickname ‘Special K’’’, she shared. Kroemer thinks it’s a great way for the students to show Pleasant Valley pride.
The blue crews have a community aspect that comes with the classes that wear them. “They make the students want to attend the games and when we all come together to wear the jerseys, it naturally brings us together,” Bormann said.
With about a fourth of the senior class ordering the jerseys, the student section should be filled with the individualized blue jerseys that represent this year’s seniors.
