With school back in full swing, Pike Liberal Arts will introduce their fall athletes as part of the Meet the Patriots event Thursday evening at DeWight Ward Field.

The Patriots will officially begin their athletic schedule at 4 p.m. on Thursday when the volleyball team hosts Northside Methodist. Following the game, Patriot fans will flock to the field to see the 2017 version of the Pike Patriots.

Players and coaches will be introduced and announced to the Patriot faithful.

“The stadium will be packed,” said Booster Club Secretary John Ramage. “It’s always a real fun event. A lot of times, it is the first time they put on their uniforms. It’s always a good way to get the season kicked off.”

This summer, the Patriots saw great turnover on their coaching staffs. The volleyball team is welcoming new coach Hayden Wilson into the fold this fall, while football head coach Gene Allen is welcoming in new assistant coaches Greg Wilkins from Edgewood and Will Austin. Thursday night’s event gives the fans and students an opportunity to put faces with all the new coaches at Pike.

“We are really excited with the additions,” Ramage said. “It’s a great way to introduce them to the extended family of the kids they have been working with all summer. They get to meet the parents, grandparents and siblings, so it is a nice introduction to who all Pike is.”

Meet the Patriots will be more than an introduction. It will also give fans the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of both the junior varsity and varsity cheer squads, which both took home camp championships at Huntingdon College last month.

“Our cheerleaders work really hard from the spring all the way through the summer,” Ramage said. “They swept almost every category at camp. Thursday night they will get to do the routine they did during camp competition. The people that couldn’t make their way to Huntingdon get to see their award-winning performance.”

The event will begin at 7 p.m. on campus and Ramage hopes it will shine a light on family involvement and the growth of the school.

“It helps introduce people to one another,” Ramage said. “It brings them into the fold for volunteering and being involved. That is something we pride ourselves up on the hill is the amount of involvement that we have from our parents and supporters.

“Last year was an all-time high number in enrollment,” Ramage said. “Of course, you can’t count them until they are in, but we are expecting another big year. There are going to be some really big announcements coming out of Pike before too terribly long about facilities and buildings.”