Most high schools in the United States offer interscholastic athletics in

varying degrees. At Colorado Academy, there are 16 CHSAA- sanctioned sports, and a variety of teams and activities, from Ultimate Frisbee and yoga to rock climbing, and all Upper School students are encouraged to participate.

 

There are also differing levels of competition and skill within these programs. The minimum athletic requirement for CA Upper School students is two trimesters during the freshman and sophomore years, and one trimester during the junior and senior years. Athletic participation at CA is an integral piece of the educational puzzle where students have fun, are challenged, learn to collaborate with teammates, and perhaps most importantly, are guided and taught by highly competent and professional coaches.

 

At CA we are lucky to have a number of coaches who are also involved in the daily lives of CA student-athletes. For example, Gabe Bernstein, Head Boys and Assistant Girls Soccer Coach is also Senior Dean and Upper School Academic Coach. Bernstein juggles the numerous responsibilities surrounding the senior class and academia while also managing more than 45 players. Lower School teacher Steph Sanders, whose team won the Colorado State Lacrosse Championship last spring, also balances the 8-3:30 p.m. work day surrounding her 20 energetic and curious kindergarteners along with Middle School lacrosse and more than 40 Upper School players. CA also gets to boast about Jay Leeuwenburg, a third-grade teacher at Colorado Academy, and an ex-NFL star, who coaches the CA boys who play football at D’Evelyn. Leeuwenburg hustles over to D’Evelyn after school every day and provides a tremendous connection between the two schools.

 

Education-based athletics allow for teachers to be involved in the lives of their students outside of the classroom. According to Lane Green, a member of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Board of Directors, “The general mission of educational-based athletics is to serve as a positive force in the education of young persons, with the ultimate purpose to create successful human beings.” I agree with Green and point to the character exhibited by CA teams and their fans as an example of important non-performance-based lessons taught by CA coaches. The Colorado High School Activities Association even commended Bernstein’s team for the players’ performance, their grace and class in the State Championship Game last fall.

 

Providing quality opportunities for all student athletes to learn, achieve and grow is essential to an athletic program at any school. The National Federation of State High School Associations says, “The purpose of interscholastic athletics is to enhance the whole school experiences for all students. Academic achievement must always be considered the priority.” Dr. Doug Hartmann of the University of Minnesota found that “There is clear evidence of a positive relationship between interscholastic athletic participation and academic achievement.”

Hartmann writes, “Developmental theorists, for example, have long talked about the character-building and socializing impacts of sports, based upon a correlation between skills and habits required for success in the classroom, sports arena and daily life.”

 

Having coaches who are fully integrated here on campus is important. For the coaches to understand what’s happening in their player’s lives outside of the athletic arena is beneficial in keeping their players healthy. The mindfulness that our CA coaches incorporate into their practice plans is beneficial to the athletes on and off the field. The coaches and players can, as pointed out in The New York Times, “be successful in the arc of growing by focusing on the process and journey and life engagement.