The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

The official site of the Torch, the student-run newspaper at Glenbrook North High School.

Torch

Girls coach starts spirit campaign

 

Junior Ilana Malman (No. 32) runs to defend a Highland Park player shooting a three-pointer on Jan. 16. The “We the North” sign hung in the Main Gym during the game. That night the girls basketball team lost 36-30 to Highland Park.  Photo by Allan Dontsis.
Junior Ilana Malman (No. 32) runs to defend a Highland Park player shooting a three-pointer on Jan. 16. The “We the North” sign hung in the Main Gym during the game. That night the girls basketball team lost 36-30 to Highland Park. Photo by Allan Dontsis.

Before every game, the girls basketball team concludes its pregame huddle with three cheers of “We the North.” For Head Coach Danielle Fluegge, the “We the North” campaign brings a unifying sense of spirit to her team, one that she hopes to bring to the rest of the school.

As a first-year head coach, Fluegge said her initial goal was to unite her basketball program, but then she began to think about “We the North” in a broader scope.

“When we travel to different [schools], you see signs that they all have or some sort of cheer,” said Fluegge. “So why couldn’t we [make something] for the whole school?”

Fluegge said the idea of “We the North” came from following the Toronto Raptors in the NBA because of her longtime friend David Gale, a member of the team’s coaching staff. During the Raptors’ playoff run last season, it adopted the “We the North” slogan, and Fluegge said seeing it “catch fire” made her think of bringing it to Glenbrook North.

“[Fluegge] said that [the slogan] is kind of a new beginning for the season and team,” said freshman Samm Carsello. “I think it definitely motivates us to come together.”

Senior Molly Blitt said the campaign gave the new season a “fresh start with a new dynamic” because of the team’s youth and first-year head coach.

Along with the sign hanging up in the Main Gym, Fluegge said the basketball coaches made their own video that “goes through who we are as a community” and shows other teams that “this is where we’re from and this is what we’re about.”

In the video, the words from the “We the North” commercial released by the Toronto Raptors are shown over images taken around Northbrook.

“To have something you can stand behind and be proud of when we go places…[and to know] we aren’t going to bow down to anyone…is something a little more powerful [than just ‘Go Spartans,’]” Fluegge said.

Fluegge said her first season as head coach has been  a “growing year.” She said the coaching staff is trying to raise the level of competitiveness within the program by having the team practice intensely every day.

“[Winning] is not how I am going to measure our success this season,” said Fluegge. “We are already seeing so much growth in our players…but to have everyone understand this is the direction that we’re going and [changing] the mentality of [the] girls basketball [program] is the goal for this season.”

Blitt said her goal is to help build the team by pushing younger players to become better at basketball.

As of Jan. 26, the basketball team is 4-15 with a 1-5 record in conference Juniors Ilana Malman and Miranda Weber each average 11.3 and 9.1 points, respectively.

Fluegge said she hopes “We the North” catches on throughout the school and she is thinking of doing something during the Pride Assembly to “get it going.”

“People that have seen the sign ask, ‘What is this?’ and see it is not grammatically correct,” said Fluegge. “But, I do think it is something the whole school can use and run with.”