Girls Soccer
Soccer fields each have their own unique conditions- such as the dimensions, type of grass or turf, and even how the ball bounces. Practicing on the same field regularly means players adapt to these specific conditions.
Sophomore varsity soccer player Zoe Quinlan emphasizes how the physical familiarity in the field contributes to a team’s advantage.
“When you play on a field or in an environment that you are familiar with, you will play better,” Quinlan said. “We are used to the field conditions we have and if it’s different from another school’s fields, so we will have more of an advantage because we are used to practicing on our field.”
Becoming familiar with every aspect of the field – from the patches of grass, to the bounce and roll of the ball on the surface, can build confidence. This familiarity can help players infer how the ball can react in different situations, making them more confident in their passes, positioning, and shots. Playing at home can also give players advantages when making strategic moves, as they’re not using more energy mentally by adjusting to new field conditions. However, the home-field advantages go beyond just the physical environment; the presence of a supportive crowd can influence performance as well.
“If fans are encouraging you, the team will have more energy, and it’ll motivate players which leads to playing better,” Quinlan said. While home-field advantages can bring comfort and confidence, it also comes with a unique kind of pressure. Quinlan acknowledges that playing in front of familiar faces – friends, family, and classmates – adds an extra level of responsibility.
“I feel extra pressure at home, because I’m playing in front of people that are familiar and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of them,” Quinlan said.
Football
What often comes to mind when a Paly student thinks about a home football game is the image of hundreds of students, family members, and friends filling the stands and dressing up according to the theme of the night. Throughout the season, the Palo Alto football team has consistently drawn impressive crowds at every home game. But for the players on the field, the question remains: do they feel the support from the stands, and does it affect their playing?
“It’s great to play on a field in front of friends and family,” captain and senior football player Jeremiah Fung said. “Playing at home normally makes me feel more comfortable because we practice on the field all week – getting to play there just makes it better,” Fung said.
Yet, Fung doesn’t seem to indicate that playing with a larger support group affects his ability to play. “The crowd usually mutes in my head, so I don’t really hear them.”
Similar to Fung, captain and senior Joe Kessler believes that familiarity can play an important role in the outcome of a game. “Each field differs with the turf, and if you’re not used to it, it can be difficult to adapt,” Kessler said. “However, if you play with the mindset that the conditions affect both teams, then I think performance won’t be different.”
Kessler also emphasizes that the enthusiasm and energy of the crowd matter more than the sheer size of the student section.
“It’s super important to be engaged: if you’re at a game and not engaged there’s no point in being there,” Kessler said. “I’d rather have 25 super engaged fans than 100 that aren’t. That’s what it was like down the stretch last season. We had little to no student support, but we had tons of family support and that made the wins more meaningful.”
While Joe Kessler acknowledges the crowd’s presence, his focus on performance during the game doesn’t depend on external noise or interference.
“I don’t pay attention to the stands, I tune out all the extra sounds because it doesn’t matter to me,” Kessler said. “But it’s nice being able to perform in front of a lot of people.”
While the players don’t seem to believe that the crowd directly affects their performance, they both appreciate the sense of comfort that accompanies being able to play on their own field and enjoy the support of family and friends cheering from the stands. Even with the given advantages playing at home can create, the Palo Alto vikings face a tough schedule packed with intense competition this season.
“I do believe our home schedule is tougher than our away schedule,” Kessler said. “We play some of the toughest teams in the area on our own field, and while it’s amazing to be able to play that type of competition, I do wish that we could play a weaker team at home.”
With this tougher competition comes a potential decrease in student devotion to games. “[A tougher schedule] affects how many people show up, it’s frustrating that if the win is not guaranteed, most students don’t show up and support and when they do it’s fake noise,” Kessler said.
Being able to support the team regardless of a win or loss can mean a lot to the varsity football players.
Boys Water Polo
While football often stands out as the sport that comes to mind when picturing the most significant home-field advantage, other teams also experience unique benefits from playing on their own turf. A prime example is the Paly Boys water polo team, where the characteristics of their home pool provide a distinct edge.
“In water polo, home-field advantage is a big factor, as every pool is a different size, and the temperature and chlorine levels affect how you play,” junior and varsity water polo player Felix Ryans said.
A high school water polo pool is typically 25-30 meters long and 10-20 meters wide, however, there are no exact standard dimensions for a water polo field, because the dimensions adapt depending on the size of the pool. This means that certain pools are wider, longer, and larger than others, giving players more distance to swim but also a larger and wider area to set up their offense.
According to Ryans, Paly’s expansive pool and resources set them apart from other teams in the league.
“The Paly pool is longer and wider than most of the other schools we play against, so when we play at home, the other teams get tired a lot faster than normal,” he said. “I think when you have a larger home pool, it affects your performance positively because it helps you to build up more stamina than other teams and makes it easier when you play at other schools with smaller pools.”
Ryans also believes that fan engagement plays a significant role in water polo. “When the fans are hyped up and cheering a lot, the atmosphere helps the good players play better, but also demoralizes the other team,” he said. “It also makes the experience a lot more enjoyable for me, as I find it comforting to have friends and family in the stands watching me do something I am passionate about.”
While Ryans appreciates the support from loved ones, he acknowledges that playing at home can bring more pressure to win. “At times, there is some extra pressure when playing at home, especially when you aren’t having a good game,” Ryans said. “I remember playing at home against Gunn, where I wasn’t scoring as much as usual, and knowing that I have friends and family in the stands seeing me play badly made me think I was doing worse then I actually was. But I reminded myself that ultimately the people in the stands don’t determine how I play, so I should control what I can.”
More than just providing a morale boost or adding pressure, Ryans sees the crowd’s energy as a strategic advantage. “Having fan engagement can help us play better because it can intimidate the other teams and cause them to compound their mistakes,” he said.
The presence of a vocal, enthusiastic home crowd can turn the tide of a match, pushing the Paly team to elevate their game while both unsettling and tiring out their opponents.
Girls Volleyball
Girls volleyball may not always attract the same level of attention as football, but for the players, the experience of competing on their home court is just as impactful. The support from fans can energize the team and make a tangible difference in their performance.
“I think [playing at home] does give a slight advantage, especially depending on the teams we play,” junior and volleyball player Marley Shumaker said. “If we were playing rivals like Los Gatos or Gunn, it’s so fun to have our student section cheering for us in our own gym, along with that just being in the environment of our home court is so fun. I think it fuels our energy and makes us fight harder to ‘protect the house’, is what we call it.”
In some instances, the energy of the crowd can make or break a game. “Last year at the Gunn vs Paly game we had a very big student section and everyone was cheering, making the gym so loud,” Shumaker said. “It was so fun to see everyone laughing and just having a great time. I really believe it helped our team pull out the win, and made it so much more special.”
For Shumaker, the presence of fans goes beyond just boosting morale: it helps the team maintain their focus and composure and even helps them pull through in difficult moments. “It is so important to have support,” Shumaker said. “It’s always nice to have our fans cheering on the side because it keeps up our energy and keeps up the mood in the gym. A lot of the time my team can get down on themselves and that starts to affect their playing, but without the energy from our fans it sometimes makes it more difficult to get out of that mindset.”
However, playing in front of a home crowd can come with added pressures. Similar to Ryans, Shumaker and her teammates sometimes face the mental strain that comes with performing in front of an audience.
“It’s hard not to get in your head because you never want to lose at home in front of everyone,” she said. “But I think this just makes us want to fight harder. I think we handle it by knowing that our student section and others watching are here to support us whether we win or not, and that is so important to us.”
Despite the impressive record and standings of the team at the top of the De Anza League, Shumaker acknowledges that volleyball games may not draw as large a student crowd as other sports at Paly.
“I do think we are at times underrepresented, we are a very strong team and I feel like people don’t know that,” Shumaker said. While Shumaker remains hopeful that more students will turn out to support the volleyball team, she and her teammates appreciate both their student section and the support of team parents, knowing that their presence can make all the difference, win or lose.
“It would be nice to see more of a student devotion at home games, however we all are still happy with the turnout,” Shumaker said.
Beyond just student participation, playing at home can provide comfortability, convenience, and an advantage in training, all of which can enhance an athlete’s abilities. Across all four sports, one thing is continuously shared: the support from fans and loved ones brings meaning to each game, and can inspire athletes to give their all.
