Every year, on Saturday before Homecoming week, students, staff and families gather at Sedro-Woolley High School for two reasons: Powder Puff and Buff Puff.
Powder Puff and Buff Puff are long-time Homecoming traditions where upperclassmen girls play flag football, and upperclassmen boys play volleyball.
Two weeks in advance, players are trained by volleyball players and football players in their grade in preparation for the games. Coaches use their skills and experience to teach the team as much as possible in the short amount of time given.
The seniors won the Powder Puff game, 18-7 against the juniors.
“As my first year being able to participate, it has truly brought some excitement to get the opportunity to be on a team with my classmates and coached by my classmates,” said Kassidy Hagen, a junior at SWHS.
Hagen was honest on what it was like being coached by fellow juniors.
“It does make it a bit harder to stay serious and realize that they (junior football players/powder puff coaches) are only trying to help and really aren’t just teenage boys trying to pick on you,” she said.
Aiden Johnson, a senior and left tackle/defensive end for the SWHS Varsity Football team, was committed to his role as a coach.
“This is my second year coaching and I did not want to lose like the team did last year,” said Johnson.
In order to help the senior Powder Puff players understand the game better, Johnson made a group chat and sent the plays digitally for the girls to study.
“I did enjoy being on the coaching side of the game. I learned that you need a lot of patience to coach football to people with minimal experience,” said Johnson.
Some of Johnson’s skills that he taught at practices, like faking handoffs, how to handle the ball properly, and how to correctly grab the flag, significantly paid off in the game.
“Everyone played their part, but Braelyn (Johnson) most notably on offense and Inna (Leus) on defense did very well,” said Johnson.
After the Powder Puff game ended at 7:30, spectators made their way to the gym to watch the Buff Puff competition unfold.
The Junior boys won, claiming two out of the three sets played.
“The first set had a very rough start, we were down 0-14. We called a timeout, gave the boys a pep talk, and they pulled it together catching up but still losing the set by a little,” said Alyx Waite, a junior, varsity volleyball player, and Buff Puff coach.
“We won the second set as well as the third deciding set. The boys were so excited and us coaches were proud, it feels good to see the work pay off. The boys were most excited to rub the dub in the seniors’ faces,” said Waite.
Buff Puff coaches were spoken to prior to the official game, in order to get a glimpse of the process of coaching.
“Helping coach the Buff Puff team with Alyx Waite, Maggie Devries, and Emma Jutte has been such a fun experience,” said Kamryn Wise, a junior and Varsity Volleyball player at SWHS. “Some of the boys surprised me with how well they can hit, pass, and block.”
Waite also commented on the trials and tribulations of teaching her peer’s volleyball techniques.
“It’s a little hard coaching them,” said Waite. “Breaking down skills gets a little rough, but when we scrimmage or do hitting lines, they look good.”
An interesting component of Buff Puff is the difference between boys and girls playing volleyball.
Emma Jutte, a junior and varsity volleyball player, said that the boys’ strength and ability to jump higher is a significant difference between regular girls’ volleyball. Waite also agreed on this, admiring their ability to “effortlessly block and kill”.
Despite having to troubleshoot with technique and skills when it comes to volleyball, the junior coaches were sure they would defeat the seniors.
“Although the seniors played well last year, I am confident. Our volleyball boys have been putting in the work and they are so excited,” said Wise.
Besides just having fun and wearing a pink tutu, Gibson Griffin, a junior Buff Puff player, took the game very seriously. With great blocking and hitting, Griffin was a notable contributor to the junior’s victory.
“I was confident we were going to beat the seniors, by a lot,” said Griffin.
Another junior Buff Puff player, Julian Rodriguez-Padilla, was also sure that the juniors would win.
“My favorite thing from my Buff Puff experience was our team working together and making connections,” said Rodriguez-Padilla. “It was kind of weird being coached by volleyball players my age, but made it easy playing and practicing, because I knew the players that coached our team,”
The Buff Puff and Powder Puff competitions were not only exciting for the players and coaches, but for spectators as well. The competitive nature of the juniors and the seniors in the spirit sections made the game even more intense, with roars of clapping, cheering and chanting filling the air.
“I would say the most intense part of the game was when the seniors were leading by 14-0, but I knew that our team would keep our cool and secure the bag,” said junior Juju Cabello.
This year’s competition proves that Buff Puff and Powder Puff is a great way to get riled up for Homecoming week, with teamwork, passion, and Cub spirit.