Student Athletes Work Hard—So They Can Play Hard!
Upper School’s preseason training camps are off to an earlier-than-usual start this year, with the arrival of enthusiastic soccer and football players on Tuesday of this week. (The early start is required to match up with new dates established by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.)
Newly appointed Athletic Director Shawn Brown (US’00, C’04) has been working closely with coaches and Athletic Department personnel to prepare for the arrival of our student-athletes. Brown is known to many at the School, having previously served as a PE teacher, football coach, and baseball coach, before moving to Texas, where he was athletic director at a private school in Dallas.
In a communication to parents, Brown stressed Principia’s athletic creed—“high minded and hard fighting”—and the larger goal of spiritual growth. “Excellence beyond winning means our athletes will develop character growth in moral, social, and leadership skills. This includes teaching teamwork and true sportsmanship,” he said. He also underscored the School’s zero-tolerance policy toward any type of hazing.
Of course, vigorous training and regular practice and conditioning are part of Principia’s program to prepare athletes to excel and compete effectively. But the spiritual and character aspects are just as important. For instance, in the case of the football team, players committed to studying the pamphlet God’s Law of Adjustment, by Adam H. Dickey, over the summer and completing all schoolwork assignments before sports camp.
There will also be time for student-athletes to enjoy some fun and bonding during preseason training—including paintball, movies, and a visit or two to St. Louis’s landmark sweet spot, Ted Drewes!
The campus and dorms will be filling up over the next few days, as the girls’ softball, volleyball, and tennis teams arrive on campus, along with boys’ and girls’ dance participants and cross-country teams.