Thacher has long prioritized keeping the role of sports “right-sized” in the midst of a broader society that often seems to lose perspective on high school athletics. We eschew many of the trappings and pageantry that accompany sports, particularly high-profile sports for boys, in many high schools. Rather than measuring our success solely by the final score or the season’s record (the first scoreboard), we also emphasize and celebrate sportsmanship, camaraderie, sacrifice, improvement, diligence, and teamwork (the second scoreboard). Our coaches do not seek to win at all costs, but rather to earn the deep satisfaction of a meaningful victory earned with honor as well as to appreciate the important lessons of a hard-fought defeat accepted with grace.

 

Just as we resist the sometimes disproportionate and unhealthy attention and pressure placed on high school athletics in the broader culture, we also reject the trend toward earlier and narrower specialization. Elaborate systems have formed in recent years to pressure young athletes and their families to commit significant time and financial resources to a particular sport, often on a yearround basis. Seldom do these systems have the best interests of the athletes themselves at their heart. Often they capitalize on hopes that committing to this system and bearing its many costs will lead to an athletic scholarship or access to a college that would otherwise be unattainable. Too often, this path ends in disappointment, injury, and burnout. We think that for the vast majority of young people, what is best for their development and well-being is a healthy diversity in athletic and extracurricular pursuits.

 

As youth sports have become increasingly professionalized and commercialized, the role of coach has evolved in ways that are often misaligned with Thacher’s educational values. Too often coaches are incentivized to focus narrowly on maximizing immediate, short-term athletic performance at the individual and team levels. Our model depends on our ability to attract educators who bring passion and excellence to their engagement with students in multiple arenas, including athletics. Our athletic programs thrive when they are led by full-time residential faculty members who see sports as part of a holistic approach to education that centers the interests of the student athlete. Recruiting and retaining teachers who combine deep expertise with this broad perspective is an ongoing strategic imperative for the School. 

 

Ours is a throwback position. We think that the primary purpose of sports is to have fun and to learn transferable lessons. Few of our students will earn a living through playing sports, but all will need to know how to function in a variety of team settings. Only some will participate in intercollegiate athletics, but all will benefit from having overcome challenges and stretched the outer bounds of their comfort zones. Few will be famous athletes but all can be great teammates. They will seldom need to perform the same narrow set of tasks repeatedly, but will often be asked to adapt to new settings, develop new skills, and confront novel challenges. Thus, we seek to design and sustain an athletic program that reflects our values and prepares our students for the future that they will face. We also seek to provide them the opportunity to experience the joys of teamwork and competition for their own sake, rather than to experience athletics as a means to some other end.

 

Keeping sports in perspective does not mean that we are indifferent to the quality of the student experience, the seriousness of purpose of coaches, or the competitiveness of our teams. All Thacher coaches must plan each practice with care, have a vision for the development of each player and the team as a whole, be expert in their understanding of the sport and committed to professional growth. The sports experience should be designed to empower each athlete to reach their full potential and for the team to pursue excellence collectively. The vagaries of scheduling, talent, and playoff structures will inevitably mean that some seasons will yield higher winning percentages than others, but the level of commitment on the part of all participants should not be variable. Similarly, the degree to which a given team reflects the standards outlined above should not vary according to the sport or level of competition. Our commitment to equity requires the institution to equip coaches with the resources necessary to lead their programs in alignment with these goals and to hold all leaders of afternoon programming to a high standard. 

 

In short, we want students to have a diverse range of afternoon experiences including team sports marked by deeply meaningful and joyful shared experiences in which they model and appreciate the values and lessons of sportsmanship, hard work, and collective endeavor.