Every sport at Eastern plays a vital role in the community

Eastern University is known for the variety of sports offered on campus. Each one offers a different benefit to our Eastern Community. Three of these programs are often under looked even though they are an important part of the community both in and around Eastern.

Marching bands provide many benefits to a school’s community, but here at Eastern the marching band creates a unique experience for everyone involved. The Eastern University Marching Band began their inaugural season this fall and since then has doubled in size. Due to the program being new here, there is room for traditions to be made. Marching band director Dr. Kate Smucker talked about some of the new traditions that she hopes to implement here at Eastern. The main one being the halftime show at football games. The halftime show is a great way to get the crowd engaged with the band. This in turn can create a more welcoming and enjoyable environment for students and visitors. Smucker also mentioned some of the events that the band attends outside of football season. The most recent was when they played at the Ronald McDonald House. Here they were able to see the joy they brought to the children by helping build community in the greater Philadelphia area.

Marching bands aren’t the only group that brings a unique experience to the Eastern community. The Cheer team can be seen at Eastern University football and basketball games. They are under the direction of head coach Julie Berardi and currently have 12 members. At these games they help build a sense of excitement and engagement with the crowd. The cheers performed connect with events happening in the game to help keep the momentum going. It also provides a great opportunity to encourage more people to watch the football and basketball games to see not only the playing team but also the cheer team. Community is not just found in the crowd though; it is also found within the team. Part of being on a team is creating a comfortable environment where everyone feels they belong. The cheer team creates this environment and community for their members.

The Marching Band and Cheer teams are both important to our Eastern community, but we can’t forget about the Esports team. Head Coach Joshua Franklin oversees the Esports team and works hard to engage with the Eastern community. The team competes in online video game competitions which are usually streamed on their twitch account. This past semester they competed in “League of Legends,” “Valorant” and “Rocket League,” with intentions to add “Marvel Rivals,” “CS:GO” (counterstrike) and “Super Smash Bros.” next semester. They provide students and others with the ability to cheer on and celebrate their school without having to leave their dorm room. Competitive gaming provides students in our community with skills that translate directly into the classroom and workplace after college, including teamwork, communication, strategic thinking, problem-solving, leadership, time management and discipline. Eastern’s Esports team is a great place to work on these skills and become better students. The team also hosts a yearly community fundraiser called the extra life fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. All these aspects help build community both in and around Eastern. Nicholas Collazo, a member of the Esports team also mentioned the community within the team. He talked about how welcoming coach Franklin was and the specific roles in the facility to ensure no one is put to the side.All these programs play their own important role in the Eastern Community, but none of them would be able to operate without proper funding. The marching band uses money to purchase uniforms, music and instruments for the members. Without these materials, they would not be able to provide us with the marching band experience we have grown to love. The cheer team uses funding to provide uniforms, equipment and competition fees. All these help build and contribute to the experience of games and competitions we all look forward to. The Esports team uses money for the necessary equipment and software, league and competition fees and team uniforms. These allow the team to perform their best and represent Eastern University. All of these teams would benefit from more funding which would allow them to expand their programs. One way you can help with this is by donating at https://raisedonors.com/eastern/mwclub. All of these teams are available to accept donations from this website. Every donation helps keep these amazing programs funded and an important part of our Eastern Community.