If you haven’t heard already, the setup for the sports banquets at Pentucket has changed, and on Monday, November 25, 2024, Pentucket will host its first new banquet for the fall athletes.
The new setup will be very different from our past banquets, yet hopefully, will be just as memorable and fun.
The New Format
The schedule of the new banquet was recently released and sent out to parents.
For those who haven’t seen it yet, athletes, team managers, and coaches will first meet together in their designated team area, located in the dining commons, from 5:00-5:45 to eat a catered dinner. Doors will open to parents and families at 5:45. Then, from 6:00-6:30, all families, coaches, and athletes will gather in the gym for the opening ceremony. During this time, Athletic Director John Amico will hand out first-time Varsity Letters and special awards.
From 6:30-8:00, each team will report to their assigned breakout room which will accommodate the size of the team and families. The classrooms around the school as well as the dining commons will be used as the breakout rooms. In their individual rooms, captains and coaches will give their speeches and present awards. This will also be the time for the team slideshow, and teams are welcome to have dessert.
What Is Different About the New Banquet and the Old?
For many years, Pentucket has had a certain sports banquet style. Compared to the new banquet, what is truly different, and what are the similarities?
Differences
One of the most significant and obvious changes of the new setup is that each team will not receive their own separate banquet. Previously, at the end of each season, each sports team would hold their own unique ceremony to celebrate their season, typically held in the dining commons.
This year, most of the teams will have their ceremony in a classroom, and all of the fall sports teams, about 277 athletes, will all meet together for one banquet.
Another big aspect of the new banquet that is different from the old is the date. Previously, all of the individual banquets were done depending on the times that each sports season ended. Now, the banquet will be held on November 25, which is right before winter sports and the middle of spirit week events.
A majority of the banquets also will likely fall during a time when many of the sports seasons aren’t completely over. This upcoming fall banquet, the football and cheerleading teams will still be in season. And for most winter banquets, it is likely that basketball as well as indoor track seasons will not be over either.
The new banquet will still include the team dinner, however, unlike in previous years parents will not be attending the dinner portion of the banquets. Rather they will be invited to come for the awards in the gym and join their athletes in the breakout spaces after.
Additionally, Mr. Amico is introducing new, bigger awards for athletes that will be presented during the time in the gym. These awards, as well as some of the old awards, will be presented in front of all of the teams.
Lastly, the length of the new banquets is expected to be about 3.5 to 4.5 hours, which depending on the sport, could be a substantial increase in time.
Similarities
Ms. Erhardt notes: “We tried to keep the important parts of the banquet, like having that sense of team. That’s why we are doing the breakout spaces so everyone can get to be with their team, coaches, and families privately.” While everyone will be together at the start, the breakout portion of the new banquet will have lots of similarities to the old banquet style.
The personalization of the breakout rooms will also be similar to previous years. The parents of captains will be more than welcome to decorate their breakout room and bring in posters, banners, and balloons as in years prior.
Why the New Banquets?
When interviewing Pentucket Principal Ms. Erhardt, she stated: “Last year, I started getting complaints from other organizations, besides the sports teams, about the use of space. Every time I was trying to book an event for somebody else, there was a sports banquet there. As principal, I have to think of all of these organizations.”
Space was one of the main reasons for the change because the school was shut off to other clubs 28 times out of the 180 days of school. The old banquets also took away the use of the auditorium, because they were held in the dining commons, which shut off a lot of the room that other organizations can use.
Ms. Erhardt also noted: “On top of the [space issue], the custodial staff couldn’t continue to keep up with [the banquets].” There were no extra custodians brought in for the banquets, so in addition to their regular work, they were tasked with the banquet clean-up. “The custodians don’t mind helping and they enjoy having the banquets, but doing it 28 times and then getting complaints that the rest of the building is not being cleaned wasn’t working out.”
As both space and custodian availability were big problems for the school and scheduling, Ms. Erhardt, after talking to some of the parents on the PAA, decided that consolidating the banquets into three nights was the idea to solve the issue.
Ms. Erhardt also reached out to other schools to see how they handle or run their sports banquets. Surprisingly, many have theirs consolidated into three nights as well. “I reached out to all of the other schools in the CAL district, and 3 other schools in the CAL do it this way. I know for sure Amesbury does it this way, and Newburyport too.”
When talking to the principal at Amesbury, Ms. Erhardt learned that they also had space and time issues that made a banquet change necessary. The principal also expressed that they went through the same initial backlash over the banquet with furious parents and kids. It was a really difficult thing for them to start doing too.
Student Opinion
Overall, students at Pentucket are not happy with the new banquet setup. When asked about how they feel in a survey, over 90% of 61 student-athletes said they didn’t like the new setup. Only 2 out of the 61 athletes said that they liked the change.
There are many reasons why athletes feel as though the decision wasn’t fair to them, their coaches, and their families.
No Voice in the Decision
Students feel as though the lack of communication between themselves and Ms. Erhardt was one of the main issues with the change. Students were not included in any decisions and had no knowledge of the change until the choice was finalized. Even the athletes who are supporting the decision feel they have been left out of the loop.
When asked if she reached out to athletes and those affected, Ms. Erhardt said, “I did not reach out to talk to athletes or coaches, and here’s the reason why I didn’t do that: it was a decision that just had to be made and I don’t think that their input would have changed anything. I know that the athletes were really upset about it after and wanted a voice in the whole thing, but I told them it honestly wouldn’t have solved the problem.”
This has been one of the main reasons students have been upset by the change. Having no voice has left them feeling hurt and ignored.
Sophomore Aidan Reade expresses his frustration with the issue. “Not a single student has agreed upon it, and there is no voice being heard by the administration.” He thinks it is not fair for his banquet to be changed by the administration, who he feels do not usually show up to them in the first place.
He is not the only athlete upset by the lack of communication and support, as many other athletes have shown their disappointment.
Senior Brayden Jennings explained, “As a senior, I feel like a lot of things have changed to worsen for my last year here. I spent three years going to banquets, and it has always been a nice ceremony. Now I have to do it in a classroom, with no real reason given to me or anyone asking if we are okay with it.”
Interest of Sports
Students are also worried about the lack of interest in other sports.
For example, as varsity cross country runner Owen Mcdonald put it, “I don’t really care to hear what other sports such as football have to say, and I’m almost positive they could care less about our cross country season.” He is one of many who are concerned that the personal awards for each specific sport will not appeal to every athlete.
Junior Tey Turner agreed. “Having a shared banquet would be such an awkward experience because not everyone knows each other personally. I don’t have the same memories that football or soccer may have, so why would we share the banquet?”
“It makes no sense for the football team, volleyball team, both soccer teams, field hockey team, and the cross country team to have a combined banquet,” says sophomore Owen Case. He expresses his concern that having all of the teams in a combined banquet will clash interests and not benefit the sports teams.
The Loss of Special and Personal Aspects
One of the biggest worries that athletes have with the new banquet is that it won’t preserve the traditions and sentimental feelings that they had at their individual banquets in the past. The changes in space and numbers in the new banquets have left many athletes disappointed.
Athletes feel the new setup neglects the special bond of their team and doesn’t recognize traditions they want to keep intact. Senior Matthew Pipan feels that “the new setup for the banquet takes away the intimacy. All the teams will be together at once. The new setup takes away the special feeling of a banquet that you don’t get when all your teammates and parents have to cram into a classroom.”
Sophomore Jesse Wirwicz agrees, saying, “Individual banquets gave each team a time to celebrate their players and fun moments that happened throughout the season. Not only this, but the coaches personally hand out the varsity letters whereas the new AD is going to be handing them out when, no offense but, nobody really knows him.”
Case also says that the new banquets “will make the players feel less valuable when there are so many names being called for awards rather than the 3-4 awards per team.”
Senior Cece Cammett has a similar concern. “I feel that the new setup for the banquets will rush coaches through acknowledging their athletes, and the overall ceremony.” This could decrease the specialty of the banquets and override their importance.
“Banquets are what makes teams closer after their seasons, and if we change the original setup, we are only taking away team bonding,” says senior Matthew Wirwicz. “[The new setup] will make the banquets less engaging and less memorable.
Conflicting Sibling Banquets
Many students also express their concerns about conflicting sibling banquets. Many students are worried that their parents will have to skip or miss special parts of their sports banquet because they could have multiple siblings. On top of this, athletes themselves are worried about missing their siblings’ special moments, because they will have to be at their own banquet.
For example, Wirwicz says, “The most frustrating thing about the entirety of the banquets is: what will happen if parents have more than one child and have to split into breakout rooms? Will a parent have to pick a favorite? What will happen if some parents have three children play sports? What will they do?”
Pentucket senior Wynter Smith states, “I have a little brother who plays sports during the same three seasons as me, and my parents are going to have to separate to see us both at our banquets. It’s unfair because I’m a senior now so I would love for them both to come see me give my speech at my last banquets. But my little brother is a freshman so they don’t want to miss his first banquet either.”
Sophomore Susan Wisniewski also has this worry. “My parents are going to have to miss parts of me and my older sisters’ banquets. My younger sister will also be new to the building next year and we will have an even bigger problem.”
Junior Jayden Pabst also agreed that this is one of the biggest issues facing the new banquets. “I believe that the banquets for all the teams should be separate. Different times, different days, different banquets. My reasoning: if parents have two or more children playing different sports. Why should they have to choose who they would rather go see? That’s not fair to the parents nor the children.”
This is an even bigger problem for single parents, and as Turner puts it, “Single parents shouldn’t have to choose and make the sacrifice.” This was not originally a problem with the old banquets.
Support for the Banquet
Out of the two athletes surveyed who support the new banquets, senior Jackson Beauparlant expressed: “At first, I was a little confused about the changes. I heard rumors about the change, so I was very skeptical. However, after talking to Mr. Amico, the new banquet format made much more sense. He explained this format will foster a new sense of community among Pentucket athletes and save time and energy for each sports captain and their parents. Overall, I think the new banquets are a positive change, even though many people are apprehensive about it.”
Beauparlant also notes: “People need to understand that to have progression we need to have change.” He emphasizes that to solve the problems that the school is facing with space and time, change is inevitable.
The other athlete who was surveyed and supported the idea was a freshman who has never been to a banquet before. Yet, she has an open mind about the change.
Summary
Overall, the biggest issues that student-athletes have with the new banquets are the lack of communication, lack of interest in other sports, the conflict with siblings, and the loss of a special element. And, as senior James Nightingale put it, many athletes believe that the administration “didn’t have good enough reasons to change it.”
Parents
A few weeks ago, Ms. Erhardt went to a PAA meeting with all of the parents to answer questions on the new banquets. “The parents were so disrespectful and hard on me and Mr. Amico, that it kind of negated all of the positive feedback that I was getting. The parents were screaming and yelling rather than being respectful. That made it really hard to sort through what was most important to them about the new banquets. There were some parents that came to our defense, but many were really negative. It was really hard for me to be a part of.”
Although they reflected their concerns with the new banquets, many parents acted extremely inconsiderate unnecessarily.
Ms. Erhardt was not the only one who saw the meeting as extreme.
PAA member Joy Tewksbury-Pabst stated, “The meeting was intense. Ms. Erhardt and Mr. Amico were in attendance and answered any questions that were asked.” She goes on to say, “I initially didn’t like the change, but as plans have come together I think it will be a nice evening to celebrate all the fall athletes. I think giving the new banquet format a chance would be nice since we are a small school and [most] of the athletes know each other. To be able to celebrate their achievements together will be fun.”
Similarly, Assistant Principal Ms. Burke said, “Once you explain [the new format] to people and give them reasons, they understand. You just have to give them the information.”
Feedback From Ms. Erhardt and Administration
When interviewing Ms. Erhardt about the new banquet, she repeatedly expressed her concerns about disappointing the athletes at the school, especially her former students who are now a part of the senior class. She states, “A lot of the student-athletes I have good relationships with, and a lot of them were my former students. I know them very well. The hardest part for me is their disappointment in all of this.”
She also recognizes that of the 20 athletes who have parents who will have to make sacrifices over conflicting banquets, 5 parents have seniors who are on different teams. She notes, “We plan on calling the 5 families if the student-athletes are getting awards on two different teams. We are trying to be super mindful so that the coaches know to wait to give the award until the parents are there. They might have to run between two banquets. We are doing our best to accommodate.”
Ms. Erhardt also mentioned that there are families who have 7th and 8th graders who played up on JV and who also have overlapping sibling banquets. Administration won’t really be counting these athletes, or many JV athletes in general, in the 20 families, as they have “time to go to their kids’ banquets as they get older.” Ms. Erhardt wants to prioritize older, upperclassmen who will be receiving awards, including the senior class.
She also recognizes that the ultimate situation is not ideal, and she is working to make the experience memorable, enjoyable, and fun. “We are trying to make it really nice for everyone. We will have extra custodial staff there from other schools in the district. We also have Mr. Berube, who runs the auditorium and the lights. He will be making things fancy and using fun uplighting. It’s like planning a wedding.”
Ms. Erhardt hopes that the new banquet will foster a sense of community and will be a new fun thing for athletes to enjoy. “Having everyone together will be a cool and powerful experience. Let’s say you get the most goals on your team. You get to celebrate that in front of all of the fall sports athletes, instead of just your team, which is a pretty awesome thing. I’m hoping this [addition] is a really positive element.”
A lot of the negative feedback from the parents and students wasn’t actually expected by the administrators, and Ms. Erhardt wishes that she was more prepared to share all of the information so people had the truth from the beginning. “One of the mistakes that I made is that I didn’t send something out to everyone early enough.”
She goes on to say, “Honestly, I stayed up many nights feeling horrible about the whole thing. It was not an easy decision. The worst part of it for me was the disappointment from the athletes, but sometimes people don’t understand why I make the choices. I’m just asking them to at least give the new setup a try. It could be a really fun thing.”
Overall, Ms. Erhardt and the rest of the administration are working really hard to make the night special. Their intention was never to make the new banquet something that would upset many people, but solely to solve the issues that the school was enduring with space, time, and staff.
They will continue working with the PAA and taking in the rest of the feedback they receive to make the new format something everyone will be proud of.
Answering Questions About the Banquets
Is it possible to hold the banquet outside of school grounds? Why does it have to be at the school?
Many kids are wondering why the banquets can’t be held at houses or off school grounds, as that could potentially be a solution to the space problem.
Historically, Pentucket has had issues with off-campus banquets, as there has been inappropriate behavior and complaints from parents and coaches about the cost. Because of this, administrators at the time decided that all banquets had to be held on school property. Ms. Erhardt notes that this was before her time at the school, and she inherited the rule about the banquets being on campus.
Is there a possibility of going back to the old banquets?
Many students are wondering if there is any chance of returning to the old banquet style.
Overall Ms. Erhardt and the administration hope that the new banquet will go very well. Yet, she states, “I don’t think we can [go back]. I know Ms. Burke and I are working really hard to make that night really special for everyone. It’s just going to be different.”
However, many students still feel that the administration isn’t fully listening to their voices, as an anonymous athlete writes, “I think it is frustrating that the administration will not negotiate an alternative- especially when you consider this night is about the athletes and their families.”
In response, Ms. Erhardt emphasized that anyone who has an idea to fix the problem with a different solution is welcome to come and present it to her. She is open to any new ideas.
Will the breakout rooms be able to accommodate everyone?
Many students are worried that the breakout spaces for each team will not be able to accommodate all of the players and their families. Varsity field hockey player Elle Pierce voices her concern. “It’s hard to believe several student-athletes alongside their families will be able to gather in one classroom. It will be too chaotic.”
Ms. Erhardt explains that she held a captain’s breakfast where she set up a room to look like it would on the banquet night. The intention was to show the captains that everyone would be able to fit, with up to 150 chairs able to fit in the double classrooms. “I’m trying everything I can to have the student-athletes feel good about it. I don’t know if they will understand until we go through the night.”
Ms. Erhardt also notes: “Mr. Qaouli, our tech specialist will be here to make sure all of the double classrooms [work]. I made sure all of the smart boards could connect to the TVs so that when you show the videos, everyone can see the screens. We tested that and it worked.”
Will Outdoor Track’s banquet be changed as well?
The track team does not have a traditional banquet as the rest of the sports do. Instead of getting dressed up and having a nice dinner and ceremony, they go out to the track and celebrate their season. The team plays games together, followed by pizza and ice cream, then their awards.
Due to the large size of the team and season, celebrating outdoors on their track has become a beloved tradition amongst the team. With this new change, athletes are questioning whether they will still get this experience or not.
In asking Ms. Erhardt about this, she said, “I can’t imagine [the original track banquet] changing, as it’s a building problem [that we are dealing with]. If you guys are doing track differently we can certainly talk through that. There’s no intent to make things not work for everybody.”
How is the administration deciding which team gets what breakout room?
There is no “favorite” team in this decision. What breakout room your team gets assigned to will be purely based on size and numbers. For example, football has the most kids and can’t fit into a classroom. They will be in the dining commons.
Beyond that, all of the double classrooms on both sides of the building will be used.
Closing
The new banquet will be an interesting process to go through as a school. It is a choice that has left many athletes feeling neglected and upset, and it will definitely have its further kinks and issues to work out. However, administrators are doing their absolute best to make the new banquets as special as possible and to make sure everyone has a good time.
While it may have its differences from previous banquets, every athlete, parent, coach, and administrator will be going through the experience together. The most important thing is to be informed on the new setup, so you understand how it will work and the reason behind it. Finally, try to make an effort to go into the banquet with a positive attitude and know that the new setup could be an amazing new tradition.
