When students show up wearing pajamas, dressing in pink and wearing sports gear it often makes people question why they are wearing what they are. Other than connecting on the field, court or pitch, sports teams and their leaders brainstorm and put into place tactics for the team to become a more tight-knit group. Unique to St. Paul Academy and Summit School captains allow for team building through dress up days when the team has a game.
The captains decide on a theme and communicate it with the team, the teammates then dress according to said theme the following day at school, where they take a team photo that is then shared on the team’s social media to promote the game, this brings publicity for the team and gives them an opportunity to inform the community that they have a game later in the day. Themes can range from pajamas to whiteout, captains work together to create unique themes that make the team stand out.
Senior cross country captain Leah Passe along with her fellow captains get together and decide what seems like the best theme for the next meet. “For example when the cross country team runs at the University of Minnesota they plan ahead and wear maroon and gold,” Passe said.
Sophomore volleyball player Naomi Mann thinks that the dress up days are a way for the program to come together, “It’s a really fun way to connect all three teams and have community throughout the program. It’s fun because you can see people from your team or from other teams and recognize them because you’re wearing your outfits,” Mann said.
Some sports teams participate in this tradition more than others, it also depends on how much the captains enforce the theme.
Boys soccer has a unique way of encouraging the dress up day themes, junior captain Erik Bjorgvinsson “if a player just abandons the dress up day and they don’t wear anything, we’ll give them a red card and they will have to run at practice. And if they made an effort, but it just wasn’t there. It will be a yellow card and then two yellows is a red,” Bjorgvinsson said.
Sophomore Sophie Ferre enjoys participating in the dress up day because it creates unity for the tennis team,“My favorite is pajama day because I can just wear my pajamas and it’s easy,” Ferre said.
It’s traditions like these that further develop sports programs and foster a sense of sportsmanship across teams. By leading dress-up days, captains show leadership, build unity and create memories. This tradition is one of the ways sports teams at St. Paul Academy and Summit School show support program wide and continue to show up for one another.
