As we enter Spring Break, students and coaches from five different teams are taking advantage of a pause in the academic schedule for training trips and competitions. USSA/FIS skiers will continue to train and compete through the end of the month, while our freeride skiers and snowboarders depart for Big Sky, Montana this weekend, and the Nordic team qualified two skiers for regional competition. Four of our spring sports teams have headed to warmer weather for a preseason training trip as well. As we have communicated to parents and students, each of these trips and their planning remains fluid as we monitor the COVID-19 situation. Check out a preview of each of the trips below!

Athletic seasons do not just happen. Athletes and coaches do not simply show up and perform on game days, but instead spend countless hours watching film, working on strength in the fitness center, and refining both tactical and technical skills during practice. Teams navigate adversity, injuries, and unexpected challenges. They fall short of goals one day and exceed them the next, and it is this built in uncertainty and the lessons therein that remind us the educational value of sport. This experience is only possible when we have coaches who understand there is so much more to sport than the scoreboard. 

Game days. Being able to move from gym to rink, shuttling from one venue to the next at the end of a half, between quarters, or simply to catch the last minutes of a game, reveals a lot about game flow. The pace is almost immediately discernible. 

Our Admissions Team often hears the question: What’s a typical day like for a Proctor student? Oh, where do we start. How do adequately explain no two days are the same. How do we succinctly articulate the breadth of experiences that could enter a “typical” day for our students? 

Each year, the Varsity Alpine team's primary goals are to improve each individual's racing ability and to gain a deeper appreciation for the sport of skiing. Throughout the winter the team has taken this mentality to daily training and in competitions. Led by coaches Chris Farrell, Josh Norris '92, and Gabrielle Stone, the developmental approach to skiing has paid off with top-three finishes for both boys and girls in four of five races this season. 

Proctor's boys’ varsity basketball team has no place to hide on their schedule. Playing in the nationally recognized Lakes Region and with a non-conference schedule of NEPSAC AAA and AA teams, this year’s squad faces challenging games every week. Under the leadership of veteran head coach Gregor Makechnie ‘90 and first year assistant coach Ben Bartoldus ‘10, the boys’ basketball team is well on their way to reaching their team goals of helping one another maximize their potential, improve offensive and defensive execution each day, and playing the best basketball at the end of the season.

It’s hard to imagine a school that’s more dialed into the outdoors. It’s not just the land, the nearly three-thousand acres that we use for academics, sports, and recreation. It’s not just about the 50 year tradition (next fall) of Wilderness Orientation, the off-campus programs of Ocean Classroom and Mountain Classroom. I believe our students spend more days in the outdoors, in total, than any year-round school I know of save for NOLS or Outward Bound.

With a young squad comprised of only two seniors, Proctor’s girls’ varsity hockey team is gaining experience daily that will prove valuable as the season progresses. The team’s philosophy centers around playing with intensity every shift, excellent and open communication, having a positive attitude, and having fun. Head Coach Maggie Kennedy looks to build off of the hard work in practice and the lessons learned in games thus far this season.