The gym was silent before the basketball game against Monta Vista on Jan. 26, but the bleachers were bustling with activity as senior Nolan Chao moved about, putting up streamers and banners. An hour later the game was in full blast, and Chao stood at the front of the bleachers chanting and screaming with the crowd.

Ever since Chao became the “hype manager” for the varsity basketball team, it has been his duty to make sure that the crowd is engaged and enthusiastic about games.

Chao found his position after asking head basketball coach, Patrick Judge, before the season had begun.

“I had never played basketball before, but I wanted to be a part of the team and hype manager sounded perfect for me,” Chao said.

Chao is now in charge of marketing games by creating events on Facebook, hyping up the audience and leading cheers at games. While Chao is usually on the sidelines, his work has an impact on players. Chao feels that the energy from the audience transfers over to players.

Junior Neal Iyengar, a member of the varsity basketball team, said he’s noticed a rise in crowd enthusiasm ever since Chao became the hype manager.

“Especially with our crowd, audience hype motivates me as a player,” Iyengar said.

Iyengar said that besides Chao’s hyping up of the crowd, his personality also bolsters the team’s morale. Before and after games Chao goes to each player and talks to them personally.

In the future, Chao plans to have half time promotions, events and further advertising of games to increase audience turnout and enthusiasm.

“There’s a lot in store for the remainder of the season,” Chao said.