The crowd is roaring, the stands are shaking and baby powder is… coating the air? While this may sound unusual, it’s typical for East Meck’s student section. When you’re at a sporting event at East, specially basketball and football, the first thing you notice, or rather hear, is our lively student action. This is due largely to Hype Nest.

Hype Nest is a club that was created by East Meck alumna Moly Freeman is 2022; her goal was to foster a positive and energetic environment for students to support their classmates and enjoy a good game. What started as a couple friends getting together to celebrate teams quickly became an integral part of East community. Following freeman’s graduation, Senior Meredith Caldwell became president. She believes that Hype Nest creates a vibrant and electrified setting in whatever room or space they’re in.

Even though the players have friends and family who typically frequent sports games, it’s nice to have another group of people there to hype them up.

“It’s so much fun to have people in the stands and people cheering them on that aren’t required to be there,’ Caldwell said.

The club recently does its part to inform members, along with other students, about upcoming events in hopes of attracting a larger audience. They do this primarily through Instagram, sharing posts from the East neck sports accounts and encouraging students to attend.

There are many energetic personalities in Hype Nest, with members like Meredith Caldwell and Sarah Kutny dressing up for each game there, with Kutny going so far as to paint her body the colors of the American flag for the USA-themed football game.

Dedication like this showcases our support for the players on the field, in the gym, on the track and practically every other location a sport could take place.

Hype Nest has played a positive role in many games at East, and its absence does not go unnoticed. The club attends football, soccer and basketball games the most, the demanding schedule often resulting in other sports feeling overlooked. One sport in particular was girls’ volleyball. Senior and Setter for the girls’ team Mackenna Weisner expressed her discontent with their sparse attendance, calling for a change.

In response to this concern, Caldwell is doing everything she can to promote the girls’ volleyball team to her club members.

“I’m always telling [my] team all the information that needs to be told. I’m telling it, and I’m really trying to promote this. But, truthfully, I’m just one person. I can’t always be there. I have responsibilities too– I’m not just the president,” Caldwell said.

She wants all sports to have an audience like the ‘bigger’ sports do, but it’s not always easy to get participation from all of her peers. In recent weeks, however, she seems to have garnered ore attention for girls’ volleyball. The club has begun attending more games following Weisner’s push for change.

Even before Hype Nest’s increased appearances, Weiner never described their game atmosphere as anything other than spirited. A major contributor to this is the involvement of the boys’ basketball team. They’re at nearly every home game, cheering on the girls from the stands. “If boys’ basketball wasn’t there, our energy doesn’t just come from the crowd– it’s fueled by the crowd,” Weisner said.

Head boys’ basketball coach Joseph Gripper encourages his players to attend games for extra support, stating that it “creates an environment of fun,” with both parties enjoying attending. In his 15 years of coaching experience, Gripper has developed the belief that sports need that fan group and support, which is why he’s so supportive of Hype Nest.

“We all have to figure out a way [to] get better engagement from the students and just the community in general. So I love the idea of Hype Nest. I feel like the students need to to be more involved to help it evolve itself,” Gripper said.

While the club tries its best to encourage players from every sport, this feat is impossible, so it’s helpful to have someone to fill the gaps.

“I think us being [there for them] right now with their home games brings energy and fun. because the guys have a lot of fun with it. And I think it just lets them know that they have a little bit extra, you know, rooting for them, that’s all,” Gripper said.