There’s been a drastic change in the school’s pep rallies this year as assistant football coach Ryan Cox is now leading the way instead of a student.

“Coach Green asked me to speak at the very first one; I didn’t even know that I was going to do that. No one knew I was going to do that,” Cox said. “I was just tired of sitting there watching it be lame and so I called everybody out from Officer Mitchell to Mr. Goodrich.”

Because of his spirited nature, Coach Cox was the perfect man for the job.

“Coach Cox is constantly showing school spirit throughout the school body, so he might as well share it and get more kids excited about events that we celebrate at the pep rallies,” sophomore Madison Grebe said.

Cox knows the student body has the potential to have immense school spirit, so his goal is to bring it out of them.

“The spirit is there, people want to cheer, students want to participate, all I have tried to do is organize it and show them that they can have an awesome experience at pep rallies,” Cox said. “My goal for pep rallies at Lovejoy is to get them to the point that everyone is so fired up, so dang pumped that the roof blows off the gym.”

To bring out the school spirit, Cox is beginning a new tradition at the school: standing and clapping during the fight song.

“I want this to become a tradition,” Cox said. “I want people to participate in the cheers and take ownership in their school spirit”

The students have noticed this new energy Cox has brought to the pep rallies, and they have become a lot more spirited, something which most students have thought this school lacks.

“With Coach leading the pep rallies, they’ve gotten a lot livelier,” senior Audrey Holstead said. “The students are gradually getting more involved, which also starting to carry over into the student section during the games. It’s great to see the student body getting more involved.”

Cox is not only enhancing the experience of pep rallies for general students, but for the band members as well by involving them in the Leopard rumble and other activities they have not previously had the chance to participate in.

“I love it when Coach Cox leads the pep rallies,” band student Kate Hawley said. “He makes it more fun and interactive with the band.”

It’s not about how fun the pep rallies are to Cox, it’s about taking pride in the school and having spirit for all the sports and associations at the school.

“I want this school, our school, to be known for spirit,” Cox said. “To me spirit is not about just cheering loud or getting pumped up, it is about support for whatever event we are participating in.  Football, let’s get fired up. Basketball, let’s get fired up. Choir, let’s get fired up. Testing, let’s get… good grades, but also be fired up because that is what we do.”