High school mascot design isn't something to be taken lightly. The mascot that is chosen may represent that school for generations to come, so the design must try to embody all the spirit, competitiveness, and loyalty that comprise the student body, faculty, and community.
High School Mascots
Why is a high school mascot so important? The simple answer might be that it merely emphasizes the name of the team, like "Tigers" or "Bulldogs." The real answer to this question is much more complex, however. The mascot is the ultimate cheerleader, public relations representative, and entertainer. He must summon spirit from the fans of a losing team and drive supporters of a winning team to yell even louder. The mascot must greet small children with hugs and high-fives, and she must entertain the crowd on the sidelines between quarters and at the half. The job involves dedication, perseverance, and loyalty in all kinds of weather and under all types of stress. Thus, a high school mascot is essential to the spirit of a school.
Choosing a High School Mascot Design
Just as the mascot is an essential part of the high school environment, choosing a high school mascot design is just as important. For schools steeped in tradition, a mascot's design rarely changes. New costumes may need to be ordered, and painted designs may need to be refreshed occasionally, but the design remains endearingly the same. But, what about those schools whose mascots aren't firmly ensconced in the community? A new mascot design may be in order if the high school is new or if two or more high schools have combined to create a new school. In this case, particularly, it is vitally important to create an entirely new mascot with new colors to symbolize the unity between the two schools.
Steps for Choosing a Design
Regardless of the reason, a committee should be formed that is representative of all the stakeholders, including students, faculty, and community members. Once this committee has been formed, the following steps should follow:
- Brainstorm-During the first meeting, committee members should brainstorm about possible mascots with one person responsible for taking notes and jotting down ideas. Possible issues should be discussed, including any controversy that might surround a particular mascot, such as racial connotations, inappropriate associations, etc.
- Sketches and drawings-During the next meeting, committee members should bring pictures of their mascot ideas. These may be personal sketches or computer-generated drawings.
- Discuss-Now is the time to discuss what members like or dislike about the sketches. Keep in mind that it will be difficult to find a high school mascot design that everyone will like, so you'll have to go with the consensus of the members.
- Decide-One of the simplest methods of choosing a design is to narrow the choices to three or four. Have members select their top three or four designs and choose the designs with the most votes. You can then open the top three or four designs up to the entire student body for a vote.
- Details-Once you've selected a mascot, other details will need to be discussed. Probably the most important detail involves colors. Again, you may need to propose top color choices to the student body and allow students to vote. Be sure you include all color combinations, such as black, white, and silver or red, white, and black.
Choosing the mascot design is probably the most difficult part of the process. Once you have a design to work with, you can begin ordering all of the equipment, supplies and other items that will feature the design. Typically, the mascot design will be placed on school letterhead, painted on gym walls and football fields, and of course used as a template to create the school mascot's costume. If you've been a part of selecting the new mascot design, remember that you've had a hand in creating an important part of your school's history.
