With the boys basketball season coming up, the Titans are looking to have a strong year. Year after year, basketball games draw a huge crowd, especially with all the talent they have to display. Olympia’s 6th Man club fills the stands every year, cheering on our basketball team. This year, the expectations are high for the club and the team as they work together to uplift each other.
6th Man is a club that supports the teams here at Olympia. The name “6th Man” originally comes from basketball, as there are 5 men on the court at a time and the 6th man would be first on the bench. However, “6th Man” has a deeper meaning to the basketball team rather than just cheering the players on. “6th man uplifts us as a team. Whenever we make a big play, their energy gives us the momentum we need in the game,” Sean Owens, a junior basketball standout, shared.
The Titans’ expectation this year is to win a state championship. With a giant student member support, 6th Man helps boost the team’s confidence and energy in games. “Our purpose is not just to cheer on our sports teams and get people hyped, we are here to support all the student-athletes who give us their all on the court,” 6th Man officer Jacob Whiddon explained. The student section and the student-athletes work together to reach one goal: to win the game and do as much as they can to contribute.
With this year’s high standards for the Titans’ basketball team, they look to their student section to help get them to their goal of winning a state championship. “Our goal is to be the best on and off the court, starting with us on the court and following with 6th Man off the court,” senior captain Kaiden White said.
Having a home court advantage with a rowdy student section makes it challenging for away teams to win in such an environment. “I’m looking forward to our big rivalry games as that’s when the student section really feels like a 6th man,” Abby Landman, junior officer of 6th Man, expressed. During a big rivalry game, the crowd can set the whole tone for the game. It can easily disrupt the opponents, as they’re not used to playing in such a high intensity atmosphere. White’s favorite memory of the Olympia vs Windermere rivalry game is a perfect instance of this. “That was the best crowd I was ever a part of, you could really tell Windermere wasn’t used to that type of atmosphere and we took advantage of that,” White explained. With the support from 6th Man, the Olympia basketball team looks forward to an extremely promising season.
The Titans’ season starts off with a Tip-Off Classic in Mainland on November 14th. Make sure to come out and cheer on our Titan basketball team with 6th Man at our first home game on Friday, December 8th as they take on Rockledge High School.
