It is a breezy fall night. Everyone is decked out in blue and gold. The bright lights against the dark sky illuminate the vibrant green grass. The bleachers begin to shake as the crowd grows in excitement, and the scene continues to grow louder and louder… “Touchdown, Vikings!” Brad Vogel, the voice of New Berlin West athletics exclaims. The bleachers erupt with noise; The band begins to play, adding to the booming uproar of the crowd, “Go! Big! Blue!” cheerleaders shout. As the game clock strikes zero, all in attendance rise up one last time to celebrate the win.  Friday Night Lights at New Berlin West, an event like no other. 

There are many people and groups that contribute to a successful football game; all of them put forth many hours throughout the week dedicated to perfecting a Friday night football game at New Berlin West. 

Football 

The New Berlin West Football team practices Monday through Thursday along with team lifts Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Mondays, they do a film review from 3:00 until 5:30, then a practice outside until 6:30. After positional group meetings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, they practice from 4:00 to 6:00 on the field. To close out the practice week on Thursday, they have an unpadded practice reviewing the other team’s setup and other important details contributing to having a successful Friday. After practice on Thursday, pasta dinner is served in the cafeteria. Senior Jaren Spridco says, “The pasta dinner is a great form of bonding and making stronger connections with players you don’t know as well.” Additionally, film is reviewed and the captains for the game are chosen at the pasta dinner. On Friday, meetings covering the depth chart, and the other team’s formations, are held at 5:00. Kickers, Punters, Holders, Quarterbacks, and Wide Receivers practice on the field at 5:50. Later, the rest of the team comes out. The team starts warm-ups followed by practices with positional groups. They finish warm-ups with a session of offense, defense, one punt, and one field goal attempt. When asked about the newfound success this year, Spridco said, “It all started at the summer training this year. It felt different, everyone was motivated from the start.” Fast forward to the middle of the season, and the team is 5-0 for the first time since 2006! “Now, we are getting a lot of attention. Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Sports Network. We took everyone by surprise. It is such a great feeling, We can’t let any of it go to our heads. We know it puts a big target on our back for other teams. We have to play our football, and once we do that whatever happens, happens.” The team finished with a regular season record of 7-2.

Band

The New Berlin West Band practices three class periods per week and sometimes during flex. Most of the practice time during the school year is used to prepare for the halftime performance. Additionally, Drum Major Marcus Intravaia gave insight on the band’s practice in the summer. “The band spends roughly two weeks practicing for halftime shows in the summer. Most of this practice included introducing new members to instruments and teaching them how to march while playing memorized music.” Since most of their practice is covering the marching aspect of the band, preparation for pep music in the stands occurs on the day of the football game. Most of the members are familiar with the pep music from previous basketball seasons. They choose a few songs to play in the stands and it’s not dependent on a score or particular event. Intravaia, a Senior, has been part of the band for 6 years. He enjoys the homecoming pep rally and dressing up for the themes on Friday nights.

Cheer

The New Berlin West Cheerleaders practice Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5:30 to 8:00. During the fall, their practices are geared towards the pep rally and football games. Later in the year, practices begin to be geared toward the competitions. On Fridays, the cheerleaders get to the field around 5:50 to do their hair. Senior Renata Kloth has been on the cheer squad for all 4 years of high school at New Berlin West. She enjoys performing at halftime of the homecoming game because it is something they don’t do for any 

other game. She also enjoys performing at the homecoming pep rally, because there are only a few pep rallies each year.

Pom & Dance

The New Berlin West Pom & Dance team practices Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:00 to 9:30. They always stay busy at practice as they learn a new dance each week. They spend Monday learning the dance while Wednesday and Thursday are dedicated to cleaning up mistakes and smoothing out the routine as a whole. On Fridays, they go out to dinner as a team and get to the field around 6:00. Pom & Dance has two special traditions for homecoming: The halftime dance and guy poms. Senior Mady Shaver has been on the team all 4 years of High School at New Berlin West. This year, Shaver and accompanying senior, Maija Kelnhofer, picked out the song and choreographed the dance for the team to perform at halftime, a job usually done by the coaches. The Pom & Dance team also gathers songs and makes choreography for the guy poms performance at the pep rally. Shaver encourages everyone to join and be a part of the wonderful on-field homecoming celebrations. 

On September 30th, the NBW football team took on Pewaukee for the Homecoming football game. Unfortunately, after a hard-fought battle, the Vikings lost 39-21, however; the band, cheer, and pom & dance put on a great performance. Thanks to Athletic Administrators, Friday Night Lights at New Berlin West High school went on without any trouble.