Sports Boosters helps fund personalized Senior Night banners for athletes

Senior poster of girls’ varsity team captain senior Ryder Gangemi

Involved team parents from the Class of ‘22 boys’ basketball team started a trend that was continued in the following school years.

As you walk into various sports teams’ Senior Nights, your eyes are immediately drawn to the striking banners honoring senior athletes hanging from the walls. Starting last year, Sports Boosters took charge of commissioning them.

Their inspiration came from the Class of ‘22 boys’ basketball Senior Night. According to athletic director Rick Ellis, the team’s parents were highly involved, and to make their children’s Senior Night memorable, they bought a set of high-quality personalized banners. The banners spanned 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide, displaying action shots in brilliant colors.

Many students from different sports teams were in attendance that night, and eventually, all of the school’s other sports teams wanted something similar, Ellis said.

One of the Booster parents reached out to a producer named Mylinh Chan, who started creating similar posters that are now used widely by all the sports teams.

This fall, the costs for the senior banners totaled $800, which was split between the athletic department and Sports Boosters. Each costs between $30 to $40.

Last year, the Boosters asked coaches and team parents to organize photos for the production of the banners, which were then sent to Chan to be printed. This year, Booster parent Amy Williams took it upon herself to reach out to coaches to coordinate the photo-taking efforts.

These banners are one of the many methods that teams will continue to use to celebrate and honor the seniors during their last games. At the end of their Senior Nights, the athletes can take home the banners.

Seniors like Kai Otsuka, who played water polo, said receiving the banner underscored a sense of belonging to the team.

“Getting a senior poster from playing water polo was super cool,” Otsuka said. “Everyone was super welcoming despite my inexperience and if I were to choose a sport again, it would definitely be water polo.”