It was an ordinary day of football practice until freshman Griffin Gonzalez sat next to freshman Matthew Wolfe and decided he wanted to start something new. Gonzalez wanted to create the first-ever student section for freshman here at Carmel, now known as Fresh Game.

“We did this at Clay last year and we would just go insane and have fun and we decided we wanted to do that at high school,” Gonzalez, who along with Wolfe, is a co-founder of Fresh Game, said. “But if we were gonna do it, we were gonna do it right so we made it into a club.”

According to Gonzalez, at the first meeting there were only 56 members. However in two weeks time, the club has gone through a significant amount of growth and hit 105 members, which is more members than the Big Game club, which stands at roughly 75 members, according to Kunj Patel, Big Game officer and senior.

Fresh Game sponsor Wesley Drew said Gonzalez came to him with the idea in the fall of first semester.

“(Gonzalez) was interested in creating a freshman group similar to Big Game that could focus on raising attendance and energy at freshman games,” Drew said via email. “It seemed like a great idea so I told them to run with it.”

Wolfe said Fresh Game was also started because he believed that the Freshman Class needed to be represented. In addition to this, Wolfe also said Fresh Game has an impact on those who are participating in a sport.

“For those who are playing, I believe a group of classmates cheering for them as they play their sport gives them more pride to win,” Wolfe said.

Gonzalez agreed with what Wolfe said and also said it promoted a healthier lifestyle.

“Our big thing is that high school is a period of time where things can go really, really well for you or really wrong for you, and we think it’s a lot healthier for you to be hanging with your friends at a girls’ basketball game when you’re all dressed preppy and making crazy chants and having a good time and going to Steak n’ Shake afterwards rather than hanging in a basement somewhere. I believe that’s a healthier lifestyle and a healthier choice and I think that’s more fun, too,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also described Fresh Game as an extension of the Big Game club currently at CHS.

“Fresh Game is basically the Big Game for freshmen,” Gonzalez said. “It’s basically a group of people that get together and we go to freshman athletic events or we go to support freshmen.”

Gonzalez said an example of this is when they went out to support two freshmen on the women’s varsity basketball team.

As co-founders of the club, Gonzalez and Wolfe said they each have certain responsibilities and duties they must fulfill, even though they do not have weekly meetings like many other clubs at Carmel.

“Basically my job is to update Twitter, Instagram and send out Remind101s to let (members) know themes, where the game is, what the game is and times,” Gonzalez said.

Wolfe said his responsibilities include, “trying to be the best role model for all of the Fresh Gamers. I also had to help think of theme ideas, organize events, promote games and, lastly, lead the student in chants.”

As a sponsor, Drew also has his responsibilities.

“Basically he is in charge of (the club) if there is an issue conduct-wise. He also helps us manage the club, such as if we need a meeting he can get us on the announcements for that. He can get us into the freshman cafeteria and he overlooks all that we do and makes sure it’s all school appropriate,” Gonzalez said.

Wolfe added to what Gonzalez had to say and said Drew led the students in the right direction and then let the students take action.

Since both Gonzalez and Wolfe will no longer be able to lead the club next year, due to the club being exclusive to freshman, they have already made preparations for next year.

“Next year for CHS Fresh Game, we look to pass on the leadership to qualified 2019 students. The other option for the club next year is to discontinue it, leaving it as a successful achievement for the Freshmen Class,” Wolfe said.

For looking at the future, Gonzalez said he has a vision for the future of the club, and Carmel student section as a whole.

“My hope is that we can make Carmel student section, by the time we’re seniors, the greatest student section of all time,” Gonzalez said. “I want people to be scared to come to play at Carmel, which usually they already are, but I want us to be the Seattle Seahawks of the IHSAA. I want people to be scared to come play Carmel. I want people to be like ‘oh you know Carmel’s a tough place to play.’ That’s the environment I’m looking for.” By Shakeel Zia