37 In an effort to bring Bethel athletic teams closer together, the athletic department has decided to spear-head a movement to see that each athlete is supporting every sport at least once throughout the course of the semester. Starting this Saturday, Pilot teams will “Pack the House” as the women’s basketball team takes on Indiana Wesleyan at home. At that game, all student-athletes who are available will be required to be there supporting their fellow Pilots. The Pilot athletic department has been looking for a way to bring athletes from different sports together for a long time. Student-athletes take part in a retreat called the Student Athletic Leadership Training (SALT), where they are thrown in the same setting and learn how to be better teammates; nevertheless, the athletic leadership team decided that it would be beneficial to build on that by encouraging athletes to actively support each other. “My prayer and hope is for the student-athletes to come together and support one another on and off the playing surface,” said Coach Martinez, a member of the athletic department leadership team. “Maybe, just maybe, some student-athletes will come back to the events and continue to support home athletic events in the future.” Overall, it is the hope of the athletic department that student-athletes will take this idea and expand it into supporting each other on a regular basis. Although supporting home events will not be too challenging for most student-athletes, they will also be traveling to Blackthorn Golf Club to watch the golf teams and Goshen to watch the track teams since neither of them compete on Bethel’s campus. A list of the events that teams plan to “pack the house” is listed below. Jan. 29 Women’s Basketball vs. IWU at 1:00pm (tailgate at 12:30pm) Feb. 1 Men’s Basketball vs. Goshen at 7:00pm March 24 Baseball vs. Goshen (time TBA) March 26 Track at Goshen College April 10-11 Men’s Soccer Guinness World Record Event (TBA) April 14 Tennis vs. Calumet College April 16 Men’s & Women’s Golf at Blackthorn (TBA) April 19 Softball vs. Spring Arbor at 3:00pm and 5:00pm
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