Seeing the work that the campers and trainers put into the time we spent really makes me feel proud that I'm at a point in my life where I can enjoy what I do, enjoy my family, and look to more days on the bench cheering these mascots on, and less in suit. But not totally out of suit!
What a great summer for mascot camps. Fifteen mascots romped, danced and pumped up the crowds in Hershey, Reading and Lancaster, Pa. Thanks to all our mascot performers who made this season special!
Friday, July 17, 2009
School mascots get tips on sideline safety
By MELISSA KOSSLER DUTTON (AP) – 3 days ago
When Jevin Fluegel took the job as his high school's mascot, "Ty the Tiger," he thought the gig would be all about generating school spirit and making people smile.
He didn't know it would involve learning self defense, too.
"You're an easy target" when you're in costume, said Fluegel, who will be a senior at Union Endicott High School in Endicott, N.Y. "Kids want to pull my tail. Even adults are like that. We don't let that go by."
Fluegel has honed his mascot and self-preservation skills at yearly training camps taught by former professionals. It helped him keep his cool, for example, when a fan from an opposing team ran straight for him during a football game.
The training sessions, usually held over three days, teach high school and college students character development, dance moves and safety skills. Campers spend time in and out of costume and watch video footage of themselves performing.
"There's much more that goes into mascotting than we ever dreamed," said Teresa Gereaux, director of public relations at Roanoke College, in Salem, Va., which enlisted the help of Keystone Mascots, a Brownstone, Penn., company, when it launched a new mascot — a maroon-tailed hawk named Rooney — in April.
"We felt training for our mascot students would be valuable to them and valuable to the institution," she said.
The professionals stressed safety, which includes pairing mascots with spotters, providing safe places for them to take breaks and making sure they don't become overheated in their suits, she said. Assigning mascots companions protects them from bullies and helps them maneuver in their costumes, many of which combine big feet and poor visibility.
Mascots can face "serious physical injury" from poor visibility and from "punks" who want to hurt them, said Erin Blank, owner of Keystone Mascots.
"Even in high school, we need to have somebody with the mascot that can be their eyes and ears and voice," Blank said.
Cait Norman, a high school mascot for three years, could not believe how rough sports fans can be on mascots.
"They'll body-check you," said the 18-year-old, who dressed as a cedar tree during football and basketball games at Lebanon High School in Pennsylvania. "They're trying to look cool. Really, you're beating up a mascot. What's so tough about that?"
Sending Norman to camp helped Lebanon High get the most out of the mascot, said school adviser Terri Johnston.
"There are a lot of unwritten rules of mascotting like not talking in costume," Johnston said. "It's something you have to learn how to do."
Staying quiet was "the hardest thing ever," said Norman, who relied on gestures, signs and dances to rev up the crowd.
Learning to engage a crowd without words is what makes a mascot successful, said Dave Raymond, the original Philly Phanatic, who now runs a mascot boot camp.
"This takes practice in front of a mirror," said Raymond, owner of Raymond Entertainment Group in Newark, Del. "Every subtle nuance of movement up to very large movements is very purposeful."
He teaches mascots how to do everything from creating a back story for their characters to managing the heat inside the costume to sewing and cleaning the suits.
Figuring out what you can and can't do in costume is crucial, said Fluegel, who has had his share of mishaps. He fell during a broomball game, lost his costume's head while visiting an elementary school, and dodged an underwear-clad fan who charged him during a football game.
"People think you're just putting on a suit and making a fool of yourself," he said. "It's hard. It's a science."
Devon Kendall gladly tolerates the heat and discomfort of his panther costume because of the positive impact the mascot has had on fans at Spencer-Van Etten High School in Spencer, N.Y. The soon-to-be senior revived the mascot program two years ago.
"Our school had no hope — no school spirit," said Devon, 16. "It's made a complete difference. There's a lot more people coming to the games."
With non-conference play all but done and conference play starting up, CollegeHoops.net decided to bridge the two with a topic more important than both: mascots!
Mascots were originally used to help bring good luck to a team, and the theme has stayed ever since. This listing gives love to mascots from all over college basketball. Some are household names. Others you may have never heard of until now. Regardless of publicity (but not hilarity), I bring you the top college basketball mascots in the land.
10. Syracuse Orangeman – We'll start with one of the more well-known mascots. What’s a better mascot than a giant orange with a blue hat? Sightings include numerous ESPN commercials and all Syracuse basketball home games. The orange has played a crucial role in Jim Boeheim’s success over the years.
9. UCSC Banana Slug – Arguably the toughest mascot in all of sports. It was once removed as mascot by the dean at the university, but a strong rally by the UCSC faithful made sure the slug returned to its rightful home. Pulp Fiction fans will recognize the banana slug on the t-shirt that John Travolta wears in the movie.
8. WKU Hilltopper (aka big red blob) – This thing is anything but a hilltopper, and has stemmed from former WKU coach E.A. Diddle nervously clutching a red towel during games. Public appearance of hilarity: the commercial in which the blob is sitting in his prom date’s kitchen being grilled by her parents, and the dad looks at it and simply says “I don’t even know what you are.”
7. Stanford Tree – Many fans may be thinking “Why the hell is the Cardinal’s mascot a tree?” It stems from the fact that the tree is a redwood tree, as Palo Alto, CA is not too far from California’s historic redwood forests (having been there, I’d recommend it to those looking to get as far away from every form of human civilization as possible). Nonetheless, the tree is comical-looking, and as ESPN’s Pat Forde can surely tell you, is a lot of fun to dress as.
6. Delaware Fighting Blue Hen (YouDee) – What’s more fierce than a hen? A blue hen!
5. Dartmouth’s Keggy the Keg – This mascot was never approved by Dartmouth, but Keggy sure has brought a lot of excitement to Hanover, NH. This keg was the #1 fan at all things Dartmouth, and proved to be a good luck charm at countless lacrosse matches. Who could say no to a keg that’s grinning from ear to ear? I certainly couldn’t.
4. St. Joe’s Hawk – Students at St. Joe’s have plenty of financial incentive to tryout to be the hawk for basketball ga mes, because doing so waives all tuition fees. The catch? The mascot has to flap its arms for all 40 minutes. Eager students should hit the gym before attempting such a feat.
3. Franklin and Marshall College Diplomats – These mascots made the list because I nearly fell out of my chair laughing after I saw them. What’s better than two of America’s Founding Fathers smiling and giving the thumbs up?
2. UCSB's "Fanton of the Dome" - UCSB's athletics teams are the Gauchos.. which is cool to begin with. Second, they play in the Thunderdome, which not only sounds bad ass, its a good arena too. And finally, add in the "Fantom of the Dome" and you have the ultimate combination. The Fantom doesn't appear at all games anymore, as he's just a random dude who lives in So Cal, but he showed up for the Gauchos big showdown with UNC and will no doubt continue to be a UCSB tradition.
1. Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nads – First off all, I didn’t even know RISD had a mascot. But if I were to guess what the school’s mascot would be, I certainly wouldn’t have guessed that it’d be a pair of testicles. Scrotie is the number one fanatic for RISD sporting events, and makes the list due to the hilarious amount of shame and disgust it brings to the university.
Although our business got hit by a nearly 20 percent decrease last year (let's factor in the car accident, baby arrival and a few recessions in the economy!) we are approaching 2009 with renewed enthusiasm and interest by clients.
We're keeping prices the same for 2009 camps and costumes. We're also seeing a greater interest in recycling old costumes for services, and also seeing more trade for services. Thank you Schwanger Brothers, Universal Athletic Club and Isaac's for some great trades this past year!
Our mascot ministry got to visit Philadelphia five times this year, entertain at a half dozen ballparks, and keep our church kids wondering, "who is in there now???". The mascots even made Penn Del's Kids Camp a little more fuzzier this past summer.
Keystone Mascots is excited that our local baseball teams are warming up to what we can do for them, offering cost-cutting repairs, refurbishments and performer referrals.
And we're also seeing a few more camp host inquiries! Keep your eye out for camp locations outside of Eastern Central Pennsylvania!
Thank you to all of you who have contributed in some small way to our business and ministries. God continues to bless what we do, and we want to continue to pass on those blessings to you.
Teens learn to give mascots personality By STEVE SNYDER Staff Writer Lebanon Daily News
PALMYRA — Rooty, the Lebanon Cedar mascot, and one of his arch rivals, the Manheim Central Baron, have been engaging in some playful fun this week and learning how to do their jobs better.
Both are attending a three-day camp at Paramount Sports Complex which wraps up today.
Tonight both Rooty and the Baron, along with about 20 other campers, will perform at the Lancaster Barnstormers’ baseball game.
Abdiel Perez will be playing the part of Rooty tonight.
“Everyone loves Rooty,” he said. “We’re different than everyone else.”
By “different,” Perez meant that Rooty is a tree, not an animal or human or some cross between the two, like the Phillie Phanatic.
“Some of the other mascots say a tree’s not cool,” said Sylvana Quinones, another one of the five students who will be sharing duties as Rooty during the upcoming school year. “But we think he’s cool. Our school’s the Cedars, so we have to have a tree.”
Ashley Effrece, the third Lebanon student, all sophomores, to attend the camp, said each of the five has different talents, but they’ll all look the same when they are in costume.
“>You can’t distinguish who’s in the suit,” Perez said.
“If Rooty’s dancing, it’s me,” Effrece said.
“Rooty could be hyper one day and calm the next,” Quinones said of the student performers’ personalities.
“Rooty could be a boy one day and a girl the next.”
Each say the camp helped them play the role of Rooty.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Effrece said. “I never thought being a mascot was such hard work.”
“It’s definitely worth it,” Perez said. “They’re teaching us a lot.”
The camp is the brainchild of Erin Blank, who operates Lancaster-based Keystone Mascots, a company that trains mascots, helping with character development, acting skills, safety and costume care. Its Web site is http://www.keystonemascots.com.
Blank has a lengthy resume, including portrayals of PAWS of the Detroit Tigers, Coco of the Hershey Bears and Silo of the Lancaster Barnstormers. She was also the original Screwball of the Reading Phillies some 20 years ago.
“Personality plays a greater role than skill,” Blank told her student mascots yesterday after they took a break from tumbling and bouncing on a trampoline.
Campers came from as far away as Alabama.
Evan Bowker, a freshman from Oneonta, N.Y., will be his high school’s Yellow Jacket, Buzz.
“I wanted to change his name to Sting, but the fans didn’t like it,” said Buzz, er Bowker.
In addition to his mascot duties, Bowker wrestles and plays lacrosse.
Like Bowker, Phil Wubbolt is an athlete, playing basketball and volleyball when he’s not portraying the Baron during football games and wrestling matches.
At about 6-foot-2, Wubbolt is a tight fit for the Baron outfit, which might soon require some alterations since he’s just a freshman.
“I was recommended by the athletic director,” said Wubbolt, who beat out two other candidates to play the Baron because he can do push-ups.
That’s important because the Baron does a push-up for every point Manheim Central’s football team scores, which sometimes means a couple hundred in the course of a game. After all, 7+14+21+28+35 ... starts to add up to some serious pushups.
The three Cedars said the Baron has been making some unkind comments about Lebanon’s football team.
“We just tell him we kill them in basketball,” Effrece said. “It’s not even worth our time to play them.”
The two teams won’t be meeting in hoops the next two years, unless it’s in a Lancaster-Lebanon League playoff game, because Lebanon has moved back to Section Two while Manheim Central remains in Section Three; Lebanon has never lost to Manheim Central in boys’ basketball.
Rooty will just have to hope his or her Cedars can beat the Barons in football this season for the first time ever.
Team mascots learn their craft: Overacting by MONICA VON DOBENECK, Of The Patriot-News Thursday July 31, 2008, 4:56 PM
Wildcats, dogs, wolves, a rooster, Ben Franklin, a mad cow and other assorted creatures have been spending the week at Paramount Sports to learn how to express jubilation or shame without using facial expressions or voice.
It's not easy, according to several of the participants at Mascots Camp. "You have to be very dramatic," said Abdiel Perez, 16, who will be portraying a cedar tree for Lebanon High School football and field hockey teams come fall. "Somebody has to bring that extra energy, that spark."
Ellie Kranzel, 15, portraying a wildcat for Mechanicsburg High School, said if your team loses a point, you have to cover your head in shame, maybe stomp on the ground. She did this kind of thing last year for basketball, track and even the Brain Busters team.
"I've always thought, look at that job. It's such a good job," she said.
On Thursday, the students sweated in their costumes while mascot trainers Erin Blank and Charlton Jordan shouted out directions: "Walk in a macho way"; "Walk like a 3-year-old"; "Walk like a pregnant woman."
Blank gave the participants a story line to follow: "You're at a football game. Your team just made the first touchdown. Your team just won the game! But the referee says it doesn't count. You lose. And it's your fault."
Amy Amato, a senior at Lancaster's Franklin & Marshall College dressed as Ben Franklin, first pranced around gleefully and whipped off her jacket in triumph. As the news got worse, she stomped on her jacket, kicked the wall.
"It's good to learn how to express ourselves when trapped in these heavy costumes," she said later. "The costumes can be intimidating, but we need to encourage people. I feel it really helps raise school spirit."
While many of the costumed characters were high school or college team mascots, there were a smattering of commercial and other characters as well.
Matt Nissley, inside the mad red cow "Cylo," is the official mascot for the Lancaster Barnstormers professional baseball team. James Mathis, 17, represented an enzyme for Kline's Service Septic Repair. Father David Shoemaker, dressed as Blueregard the Supercat, is a Catholic priest from Eufaula, Alabama, who uses the character in his youth ministry.
Ben Rand, 18, of Harrisburg was dressed as a rooster for the Harrisburg Horizons basketball team, but his day job is a candy bar at Hershey Park. His dream career is to portray Chip, Dale or Pluto at Disney World, and he is taking theater classes at Harrisburg Area Community College to that end.
"That's what my heart is set on," he said.
Camp director Blank has spent most of her adult life as a professional costumed character, including stints with the Reading Phillies, the Detroit Tigers, the Washington Capitols, the Lancaster Barnstormers and the Hershey Bears. She cut back to start a family, but still coordinates and trains performers and makes costumes.
"I'm in the fifth generation of basketball coaches, but I didn't have the talent to play," she said. "I guess that's how I got into this."
This off-season the Philadelphia Soul mascot, Soul Man, got a subtle upgrade to his look. Gone is the latex skin, velcro patches in his hair and batting gloves. Soul Man is softer, offers more mobility in his head (the old head pushed against his chest!), has fleece hands, and an electric blue zoot suit to add to his classic black button-down. Soul Man is now 100% washable, including his head! Keystone Mascots even went a step further and offered embroidery for every logo mark, including his lapel wings, and an interchangeable hat band so he can always stay sharply dressed. We are grateful for the Soul to give us the nod in upgrading their number one fan, and look forward to seeing him jazz up the turf for years to come!
