The idea to start a pep band at Valley Jr.-Sr. High School had been on Samantha Potts’ mind for years.
“I hated that once football season is over, I don’t get to do marching band,” said Potts, a junior at Valley. “I wanted to do more outside of school hours.
“I wanted more people to go to basketball games and have more school spirit.”
This winter, Potts leads a 14-member pep band of her peers that plays at home Valley boys basketball games.
Potts of Arnold handles everything from conducting to playing in the pep band.
“I’m so glad this can be student-run,” Potts said. “My dream is to be a band director. It’s given me a lot more experience teaching and leading.”
“As I’m conducting, I watch everyone, and it makes me happy that I know I’m the one that did this. This wouldn’t have been here if I wasn’t here.”
She could not remember the last time Valley had a pep band.
Potts first learned how to play the clarinet when she was in fourth grade. That has now expanded to include saxophone, flute, piano and bass drum. Alto saxophone is her main instrument now.
“I love the sound of it,” Potts said of the instrument. “I fell in love with it the second I got it.”
When Potts was in eighth grade, the Valley marching band played during halftime of a Penn State New Kensington basketball game.
“That sparked it — playing at a basketball game was really fun, and we should do something,” Potts said.
Potts had proposed the idea of a pep band for years. It finally came to fruition after a conversation with Athletic Director Joe Skura, who was hired last summer.
“I have heard so many positive comments about the pep band,” Skura said. “I love hearing them play at each game. People leave with a smile and say, ‘Wow, it’s so nice to hear the pep band.’”
Potts acknowledged leading and directing classmates can be difficult at times, but many recognize her leadership as a drum major in the marching band.
“I always loved teaching,” she said. “I always wanted to be a teacher. And when I got into band, it just made sense. Being a drum major has been my dream since I was in seventh grade.”
Potts believes the addition of the pep band has increased the number of students attending games and contributes to a more positive school climate.
“Most of us in the pep band wouldn’t have been at basketball games, whatsoever,” she said. “Now, we’re there. I do think it’s brought more students in.”
The pep band performs songs it learned from marching band season, and they play the Valley alma mater at the end of each game.
“I think it gives a lot of Valley pride,” she said.
Asked what is Valley pride, Potts said, “Not caring what anyone says about Valley, but knowing you’re doing your best and supporting each other.”
In addition to leading the pep band, Potts is the yearbook editor; a member of the Student Athlete Council and Hope Squad, which promotes suicide prevention; and the Arnold firemen’s band. Potts and a few friends performed at a veterans’ breakfast coordinated by her grandmother, Mary Jendrey, last November at the Aluminum City Terrace in New Kensington.
Potts hopes to attend college and pursue music education. She said leading the pep band has improved her self-esteem.
“My whole life I’ve been told: I’m a leader,” Potts said. “I actually feel like I’ve been leading something with this. This has given me so much confidence for my future.”
