Friday nights at Greenbrier Stadium are a tradition like no other: at varsity football games, students can feel the electricity in the air as the game begins. Nothing is the same as experiencing a varsity basketball game in the packed gym of the school. For years, whether the games are versus Washington-Lee High School or any other school, the atmospheres of sporting events have defined this community as a whole.

Throughout the school year, spring and fall, there is always a sporting event to look forward to. While Activities Director Mike Croofield is in charge of regulating the sporting activities, few have heard of the group that truly runs athletics for athletes. This, is the Patriot Athletic Council. According to junior member Tate Arevalo, the PAC is an integral part of the sports program.

“I think the overall purpose of it is to unite the athletes of Yorktown. It is to kind of plan like the athletic side as well as the academic side of it and makes sure that everything works,” Arevalo said.

The PAC is made up of athletes representing their teams, with several head members regulating the meetings. Senior Daniel Debutts is another member who believes in the importance to the sports program that the PAC has.

“We typically select a focus for a meeting, and then allow the ‘head members’ (for lack of a better term) to help the flow of conversation within small groups. This year, we’ve discussed what it means to be a student athlete and how to better organize our time in the midst of a season. So far, there haven’t been any major concerns that we’ve had to address, and I suspect we may not run into any, but I know that if any challenges do arise, the council will be ready to tackle them!” Debutts said.

Varsity, junior varsity and freshman athletes need to have certain traits, including leadership of one’s team, to be members of the council. Junior Jillian Bartholomew knows all about this, as she represents the Yorktown Dance Team at PAC meetings.

“PAC consists of members from all kinds of teams like basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, football, cross country, tennis, and dance. The members are nominated by their coaches for being leaders on their team,” Bartholomew said.

Debutts, Bartholomew and Arevalo go above and beyond throughout their contributions to their teams. Not only do they participate and excel, but actively motivate and contribute to their sports in order to lead their team to victory.

The members of the PAC not only have the job of leading their teams, but also uniting them together.

“We have to basically just talk about how what we do day in and day out. When it comes to the season, how do we change our plans? How do we become more proactive with our work and like working together and supporting each other’s teams? People for the tennis team will go watch soccer players play soccer and have a whole support system,” Arevalo said.

Humbly accepting the role of one of the head members, Debutts knows his importance in regulating and keeping the flow of the meetings in check.

“I think that the ‘head members’ and I simply see ourselves as facilitators. We have to be present and engaged at every meeting and must ensure that the conversation is flowing smoothly. Even though not every member will decide to speak, we have to make sure that they would feel comfortable doing so if he/she felt so inclined. Our jobs are really made easy by our peers on the council; each and every member does a great job engaging in conversation and creating a fun and safe environment for their peers to thrive,” said Debutts.

With increased athlete attendance from PAC members at sporting events, it not only strengthens the support system, but encourages more students to come as well. The PAC is also helpful in developing stronger leadership roles in their members that inspire their teams to victory.

“PAC is important because it allows the members to talk about what makes a good leader and how to handle certain situations. It also allows the members to learn how to help make their teams successful,” Bartholomew said.

In a sports oriented community, it is vital to have a group like the PAC to make sure everything runs smoothly, from the leadership to the functionality of their sports teams. For those that love this community’s sporting events, know that they would not be the same without the Patriot Athletic Council.