RICHFIELD – As soon as the music began blaring the crowd knew what to do.
From the elementary-age spectators to those who’d rather take an elevator than negotiate a flight of stairs, they stood, they clapped, they shook their shoulders and moved, in unison, to the beat provided by Martin Solveig’s “Hello.”
It could be considered just another silly tradition at a high school sporting event. But to those who joined in all season, and especially after Manti’s boys basketball team won the 2A title last week, the dance was an expression of their communal pride, their collective joy.
And it was a moment made possible by a teen with a vision and a principal with principles.
Jace Cox saw a lot of people attending Manti High sporting events.
What he didn’t see was a shared experience.
“The community is always good in Manti, parents and fans,” said the senior. “Students were just at the games, not really participating in the games. So I saw kind of a need – or want – to get them more involved with the team and the game, make it a bigger thing for the community.”
Being a part of something bigger than oneself is the reason he got involved with the school’s student council. And after a year of planning events and activities that he felt enhanced the high school experience, he wanted to have an even greater influence. He ran for and was elected the school’s student body president.
Among those items he saw as most important was trying to create a more unifying experience at the school’s athletic events. It was one thing to show up and cheer. It was another to feel a part of the team’s success.
Cox knew the impact of a crowd coming together to support an athletic team. He’d seen it in action from the time he was a toddler.
“My mom grew up in Logan, and I spent a lot of time in Logan at Utah State,” he said. “I’ve seen how Utah State’s crowd works. We have that same kind of community support in Manti that they have in Logan. I wanted to bring some of those ideas that Utah State does for their crowd to Manti.”
So Cox and his friends went on the road visiting the gymnasiums of colleges and high schools in hopes of finding the best ideas to incorporate into their own experience. He took several ideas to Manti principal George Henrie who admired Cox’s initiative.
But Henrie pointed out to Cox that some of the ideas were actually negative behavior aimed at opposing players and teams. He told Cox he’d rather see the fans supporting and honoring their team, rather than tearing down opponents or their fans. “I wanted to help the crowd get more involved, but I didn’t know how I wanted to do that,” Cox said. “Most of the ideas, Mr. Henrie said, ‘No, that’s not something we could do here.’ He wanted it more centered on us cheering for our team than against the other team, which I think has turned out better than anything else we could have done or any other direction we could have taken it.”
Henrie gives Cox and his friends all the credit for what became a transformative experience at the school and in the community. Cox and his friends came up with themed nights that energized the crowd and he also camp up with musical entertainment that created the kind of atmosphere he admired at some of the schools they visited.
He and his friends did have to discourage negative cheering or heckling, and that wasn’t always something that was easy for the teen.
“The first couple of games I did feel really bossy,” he said. “I felt like, ‘Oh, he’s trying to be the principal’s little goon that’s bossing people around; the principal’s got his thumb on him.’”
It was the experiences Cox and his friends created that actually provided the most of the persuading.
“Kids saw we don’t need to do those things,” he said, as a slight smile spread across his face. “By being together and cheering for our team, it helps us way more than cheering against the other team. “
What Henrie saw was a change in all of those attending the school’s games. Not only did the student section become more lively, more positive and supportive of the Templar players, but so did the adults, over whom students had no authority.
He said the fans followed the lead of the student leaders and it created a uplifting experience for everyone, especially the team for whom they all packed the gyms to support this winter.
“It’s been awesome,” said Manti head boys basketball coach Devin Shakespear, who took over the Templar program just this year. “Our fans have been hands down the best that I’ve ever experienced. It makes the games so much more fun.” He said their support and positive energy has made everyone feel a part of the team’s title run.
“We love to have them here, and it’s been an awesome thing in our school,” Shakespear said. “It’s been fun to watch – their experience, our experience. It makes them the same experience.”
Which is all Cox ever wanted when he started searching for ways to get Manti’s crowd more involved in each game.
“He’s brought this school (of 600) to want to participate in everything that’s going on,” said Teresa Mitchell, the advisor for Manti’s student council. “We used to have to monitor the students, but this year has been a huge difference. They monitor themselves. It stops because no one wants it to be negative. We want to represent Manti and the team with every we can and be a positive influence.”
Cox said he’s more aware now when other fans jeer them, their players or the game’s officials. And he’s not saying other fan bases need to adopt Manti’s way of supporting their teams. But he knows it’s made his senior year special, and that was never more evident than just after the boys basketball team accepted their 2A state title trophy last Saturday.
The usual posing of pictures and post-game hugs came to an abrupt halt, just minutes after the trophy presentation.
The music started and everyone started dancing. Old men in cowboy hats shimmied in unison next to teens who’d followed the team all season dreaming about this moment. They danced, they laughed, and some of them shed tears.
This moment was a tribute to their collective decision to focus on lifting each other up, rather than tearing down their competition.
And while they never knew where that decision would take them, as they celebrated with their dance, it was obvious. It meant every game they were winners, no matter what any scoreboard ever said.
Twitter: adonsports EMAIL: adonaldson@deseretnews.com