Last Thursday, family and friends of the Becker girls’ volleyball JV and varsity teams gathered to give the girls a spectacular sendoff.

Show of Support

The sendoff was organized as a demonstration of support for the team. In the week leading up to the game, athletes and parents were told that spectators would not be allowed to attend the game. About three or four hours before the sendoff, however, MSHSL announced that two spectators per athlete, up to 250 people, would be allowed to attend. Even so, many parents, family members, and friends who wished to attend games and show their support would be unable to do so.

Sendoff

Around 40-50 people gathered with homemade signs to see the girls off to their game against North Branch. The girls posed for a photo op with the signs brought by family members, and supporters lined up along the sidewalk to cheer the girls on as they boarded the bus, accompanied by music to pump them up.

Streaming

Apart from the sendoff, the team concocted another solution to the spectator problem. Two of the girls on the team were asked to use their phones to live-stream the game on Facebook and allow spectators to watch virtually.

This, of course, works well in a pinch, but parents were hopeful that the school would soon be able to set up a streaming system of their own. The school board hinted that such an undertaking was in the works at last week’s meeting.

The Match

The athletes fought hard in their games against North Branch, but ultimately lost 1-3.  See full story on match in next week’s Patriot.