ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Attending sporting events in person has always been a favorite pastime for many people, and for team sports such as college and high school basketball, much of the fun of being at the game is hearing the pep band play during timeouts or other stoppages in the action.
For about two decades, Seward County Community College has not had the presence of a pep band at its games, but instrumental music instructor Claire Thompson is working to bring that back.
During the first semester of this school year, Thompson started a pep band, and thus far, the band has played at two games in January and is set for two games each in February and March, with one of those games being SCCC’s Homecoming game March 1 at the Green House.
Thompson said the pep band currently consists of SCCC students and volunteer musicians from Liberal High School, but Thompson said she is always looking for more people to join.
“If there’s anybody in the community who still wants to play, I would be more than happy to have them come and join us,” she said.
The Saints Pep Band first played at a basketball game in November 2024, and for now, Thompson said the band is still a work in progress.
“We haven’t had a pep band here at Seward County in 20 years,” she said. “We’re still working on building, but thus far, we’ve got some really good interest, and I’m looking forward to the games the rest of the semester.”
Thompson said her drive to bring a pep band to SCCC came from when she played in band in high school in Michigan.
“Our high school had pep band for football, hockey, soccer, everything” she said. “We had a pep band at the majority of our sporting events, and I went to all of them. I loved being able to support my friends who were athletes. I loved hanging out with the other members of the band, and that’s where my friends and I spent our time. We loved to play, and we loved to hang out, so we were in pep band all the time. It was something to do, and we enjoyed it. I love it.”
Thompson said pep band is completely different from and more fun than a standard performance ensemble.
“Students relate more to the music because it’s more current music,” she said. “I love how it gets the crowd involved. It’s just a really cool atmosphere to have the pep band at the game.”
Thompson explained how pep band performances worked during hockey games.
“Anytime play stopped or they scored, we were able to play in between,” she said. “The music I have for our band is specifically composed for those short timeouts. You can play a full piece in that short amount of time. Hockey was my favorite, but that’s because of where I come from.”
Thompson said teaching pep band is more laid back and easier for students because of the short pieces performed between plays.
“When we do have rehearsals, it’s pretty chill,” she said. “The kids bring their own ideas, and we incorporate them into our tunes. They are the ones who have come up with what we are playing. I take their suggestions, and if it’s available, I’ll purchase that music.”
Thompson said this helps the students buy in to the music used in pep band, and the band is truly about the students themselves.
“It’s very student oriented, and I try my best to take their ideas and use them so they keep coming back,” she said.
Thompson formerly taught music at Liberal’s Prairie View Elementary, and she said this has helped with recruitment of band members at SCCC.
“A lot of the students I have in pep band used to be my students when I taught elementary,” she said. “My first group of kindergarteners are now seniors at Liberal High School. I played that to my advantage and have been able to recruit a lot of my former students to come over and play, which has been really cool for me as a teacher to see them grow as musicians.”
Thompson is a graduate of Michigan State University, a school with colors similar to the green seen at SCCC, and with that in mind, coming to work at the local college was an easy decision for her.
“Green is one of my favorite colors, and I have a very green wardrobe,” she said. “The transition was great for me. I always joke about how I bleed green, but I come by it honestly.”
Thompson said she is happy to invite area high school and middle school students to come play with the SCCC pep band.
“If we have anybody in the community who wants to join, I just make sure it’s a fun experience so people keep coming back,” she said.
Thompson said the pep band will be seen at several local parades, including the upcoming SCCC Homecoming parade.
“My goal would be once we have a strong membership, I would love to play in parades,” she said. “Right now, recruiting is my biggest thing, and once we have a good number of students involved, I’d like to expand what we have. For now, it’s just home basketball.”
Naturally, Thompson is excited to see not only the beginnings of the Saints Pep Band but also its continued growth, and she said this comes from her experience with pep band.
“I love pep band and being able to share that love and passion with my students and build that sense of community here,” she said.
