As the John Glenn High School Boys Basketball team makes their final preparations for the state tournament, the New Concord community came together to show the team their gratitude and wish them luck.
Members of the John Glenn student section cheer on the team at the pep rally before the Little Muskies travel to the state tournament.
Storied Rivals Sports Media hosted a pep rally in conjunction with the school in the gymnasium March 15 full of cheers, games, and even a hype video for the team along with words from Head Coach Greg Woodard and a few of the players, both past and present.
Founder and CEO of Storied Rivals Sports Media, Aaron Spragg, was the master of ceremonies for the rally. Spragg, who graduated from John Glenn High School in 1999, said the community should cherish this time in support of the team.
“This is truly special,” said Spragg. “This team has done things that we never knew [were] possible, and they’ve done it the right way.”
Spragg also believes that the team has put in a lot of work to get to where they are now.
“This guys didn’t just wake up and become this team,” said Spragg. “It’s been years in the making, even before high school.
Little Muskie cheerleaders lead the crowd in a cheer at the state tournament pep rally at John Glenn High School March 15.
The crowd was able to get involved with the festivities first-hand throughout the night, with different games involving fans, players, and cheerleaders alike.
A few of the players competed in a 3-point shooting contest, with the winner taking on a young fan from the audience. The young fan came away victorious.
Students and fans also participated in a game where the participants had to drink as much Orange Crush soda from a baby bottle as possible in the span of a minute, and a game of picking as many gummy worms out of a tray of whipped cream as they could using only their mouths.
When the games were done, Spragg went back for conversations with players and Woodard, along with a special message from John Glenn himself. Storied Rivals then presented their official hype video to all in attendance to wrap up the night.
“As a coach you dream of getting there, but I’ve also dreamed of this community getting there,” said Woodard.
As the coach, Woodard has been with the team for a long time, and sees exactly what makes this team special.
“It’s their commitment and dedication to each other,” said Woodard. “We’ve got a lot of kids with ability, and they’ve done it together.”
The John Glenn Boys Basketball team takes on Bay Village in the Division II State Semifinal March 17.
The Little Muskies will take on Bay Village High School in the state semifinals on Thursday, March 17. Woodard has had a chance to scout their opponent and said that the team is very skilled and will present a tough challenge for the Little Muskies.
The team will be sent off on Thursday at 11 a.m. at the high school as they go on their journey to Columbus for the state tournament. The game begins at 8:30 p.m. at Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State University.
