Football game student section participate in Lions Den game theme ‘black out’ on Oct. 6.

Over the last several years, LT’s student section–the Lions Den–has been promoting and bringing excitement to all school sports. Lions Den consists of students from all grade levels who work together to advertise as well as create themes for numerous sporting events such as boys football, boys soccer, girls volleyball, girls tennis, girls swimming, and more. 

“The purpose of Lions Den is to promote a school culture of togetherness where all sports and clubs are recognized,” club advisor Luke Jansen said. “If I had to sum up [Lions Den] in two words it would have to be, ‘school spirit.’” 

Jansen has been the club sponsor of Lions Den for the past two years. He teaches world history as well as economics, coaches freshman basketball, and helps with the Social Action Project club.

“I decided to be the sponsor because school spirit has always been a passion of mine,” Jansen said.  “Getting a chance to work with a variety of students who also share that passion seemed like a great opportunity.”

Something new the club has been focusing on this year is to attend and promote more sports that may not usually get as much recognition, Jansen said. One way they have tried to do this is by having senior leaders from all different sports each season. This helps in knowing the most important games to attend. 

“When I learned what Lions Den is, I thought it would be fun to contribute my ideas of getting more people involved,” senior leader Greta Kulat ‘24 said. “This year I’m really excited to see how the basketball season plays out. I’m looking forward to seeing how the crowd reacts and how we can get them more involved [in the game.]” 

The senior leaders of Lions Den are responsible for advertising on social media, coming up with themes for games, as well as creating T-shirts, Kulat said. Depending on the sport and who LT is playing, Lions Den will start planning up to two weeks in advance for a particular game. 

“I really like the environment of Lions Den,” Kulat said. “I play lacrosse and I see how the fans can affect athletes. When you have support and see people coming to watch you, you get excited that people want to see you win.” 

Senior leaders also plan the agenda and activities for each club meeting. Lions Den meets about every other week in the SC study hall room to play games, make posters, discuss chants, and music choices for upcoming games, club member Mac McCarthy ‘25 said. 

“The meetings are super fun,” McCarthy said. “Being able to spend time with your friends discussing themes and upcoming sports events is something I look forward to.” 

McCarthy joined the club as a sophomore and has continued helping promote LT sports as well as encouraging underclassmen to come to Lions Den meetings. Meetings have consisted of up to around 90 people. 

“We encourage school spirit and all around fun,” McCarthy said. “I like sports in general and being able to promote that and get people to attend more sporting events is a pretty cool [opportunity.]”