Little Hawk Challenge

IOWA CITY - Iowa City High has instituted a new program aimed at trying to develop a stronger athletic community and provide its athletes exposure to their peers.

City High Athletics Director D'Anne Kroemer devised the "Little Hawk Challenge" in an attempt to create a bigger spotlight on Little Hawk athletes by encouraging sports teams to attend a competition of another of the schools fall sports teams. According to Kroemer, each team has to organize one night for the entire team to attend another fall sports team's home competition. Football is an exception because of the popularity of the sport and much of the student body attends games.

Kroemer talked about how members of the cross country team attended a swim meet earlier this fall. Kroemer laughed when sharing the experience of one of the runners at the pool. The cross country athlete asked if it was OK to cheer when arriving. Of course, Kroemer knew the answer when she rhetorically asked the athlete, "Have you ever been to a swim meet?"

Anyone who has knows that cheering is as prevalent as splashes at a prep swim meet. Often a pool, or natatorium, is loud with song and cheers reverberating off the walls. Sometimes the cheers are from team to team, while others are from swimmers to parents/fans. It's loud, fun, exciting and, if you have some evenly matched teams, it can be extremely intense.

That is where the beauty of the Little Hawk Challenge lies. That cross country runner may not have ever experienced a swim competition, until possibly participating in a future triathlon. Also, those swimmers had a chance to show peers their talent, and maybe had the chance to draw some energy from additional support. Win, win.

Do other schools have similar programs? Tell us about them. What do you think of a program trying to promote inter-sport support?