Niles High School needs to improve its student cheering section according to two members of the school’s N-Club, which is open to all varsity athletes.

N-Club President Alex Hardy and Vice President Kylee Myer said the student cheering section — known as the Niles Nightmare — has gained a poor reputation lately after receiving complaints made against it during football season.

They also said the cheering section needs to increase its level of participation and engagement.

“I think this is important because we have stereotypically been known as a negative school when it comes to cheering,” Myer said. “I think we need new life around our student section. We want to show that this isn’t really who we are and that we can change for the better.”

Myer and Hardy were among a group of several N-Club members that attended a sportsmanship summit put on by the Michigan High School Athletic Association Nov. 10 in Grand Rapids. It included student leaders from schools across the state all coming together to learn what makes a good student cheering section.

N-Club sponsor and Niles teacher Tami Williams said it was an eye-opening experience.

“The students learned a lot, but good sportsmanship isn’t just for them, it is for adults, too,” she said. “We want to pack the place, but we want to pack it in

a positive way.”

Hardy said he learned the difference between an acceptable cheer (one that encourages your team) and an unacceptable cheer (one that puts down an opponent, coach or referee).

“During volleyball season we yelled ‘Back to basics’ a lot,” he said. “That was not an acceptable cheer and we understand why now. It is disrespectful and makes us look bad. That is not one of our goals.”

The N-Club plans on holding a school wide assembly Wednesday to inform everyone what they learned at the summit.

“We will teach them the new cheers and tell them the rules of the student section… teach them the fight song,” Myers said. “I know that really bothers our athletic director that not everyone knows the fight song.”

The N-Club also made a list of five rules for the cheering section:

1. You must be cheering actively in a positive way.

2. Cheer for our team only in a positive way.

3. The more you participate the farther up in the student section you will get.

4. Do not stand on the seat part of the bleacher.

5. Do not expect to be in the front if you show up right when the game starts.

“Our goal right now as seniors is to set the table for the underclassmen and bring everything back to the way it was and the way it should be,” Hardy said.

Myers said she hopes the changes will help Niles win the state’s Battle of the Fans contest, which rewards the best student cheering section.

“In N-Club that is one of our really big goals,” she said.