Character Growth Undergirds School Athletics
Principia School Athletics Department’s “win-win philosophy” permeates every aspect of the student sports experience, from introductory skills development to intense varsity-level practices, from team dynamics to individual growth.
As Athletics Director Shawn Brown (US’00, C’04) puts it, “Coaches and students together are striving to achieve our objective—to win on the scoreboard—and also our larger purpose, which is to grow spiritually.” This overall purpose, he says, “is always at the forefront of what we are doing.”
This year, Principia is offering 15 varsity sports at the Upper School, along with several interscholastic options for Middle School and a running club for Lower School, in addition to PE. At the Upper School, new rules established by the Missouri State High School Activities Association allowed for one game plan walk-through and one practice per day during the first week of preseason training with at least a three-hour break in between. (The second week, two practices were allowed—but still with an extended break).
To use the time with students optimally, Brown explains, “We decided to utilize that three-hour break each and every day to give students the very best character education experience possible.” Activities during that time included team-building exercises, reading the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson, and, most successful of all, a Character Talks program that all Upper School athletes (including JV players, who joined in in the second week) attended together. Speakers included Head of School Travis Brantingham (US’94, C’98), head football coach Brad Warrick (US’90, C’94), girls’ tennis coach Lauri McNabb (US’83, C’87)—and a PGA golfer! The 2007 Masters and 2015 Open champion, Zach Johnson (pictured), shared with a packed audience of students and community members how he practices his deeply held Christian faith on and off the course, through patience, persistence, service, and humility.
During their time on the field and the indoor and outdoor courts, varsity and JV coaches worked diligently with both experienced students and “newbies” to their sport. In preparation for the season, Brown and the coaches had agreed on key goals for the year: helping students break limitations, overcome obstacles, gain confidence in who they are, learn how to be reliable teammates—and have fun, of course! Their hope, Brown says, is that “every student grows in grit and perseverance—in specific skills as well as in embodying the qualities of a true Principia athlete.”
The ethos of sportsmanship and what it means to be a Principia athlete is nurtured starting with PE and introductory sports in Lower and Middle School, which serve as steppingstones toward varsity competition. The idea is to encourage students to try new activities and learn how to be on a team. Says longtime coach and Lower and Middle School PE teacher Jane Harrison (US’78, C’82), “Through sports, students learn what a true sense of competition includes—and how to rely on each other through success and failure, giving unselfishly to the group.”