Upper School Students Participate in Preseason Training

The annual event, which ran from Monday, August 31, through Thursday, September 3, was a time for upper school students to pursue various endeavors and reconnect with each other before classes began.  

Nearly 200 athletes participated in sessions tailored to the fall sport of their choice: boys and girls cross country, field hockey, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls volleyball and girls tennis. Director of Athletics and Physical Education Logan Condon said that the week’s trainings focused on team bonding, technical skill work, fitness, yoga and tactical sessions. “I was excited to see our athletes working together and with their coaches again,” Condon shared. “I was impressed with how much was covered and the amount of work that was put in during the week.” He was pleased to hear from students who shared that they found the workouts challenging and how much they enjoyed reconnecting with teammates and coaches. 

Annie Fabian ’22, who participated in dance preseason, said that while remote participation had its difficulties, she also had opportunities to grow as an artist. “The most challenging things about virtual preseason are not being able to use music to dance to and not being able to share a dance floor together and feed off of one another and make something beautiful together,” Fabian explained. “It’s a very different feeling to dance ‘alone’ with a screen in front of you than in a room with all of your best friends.” 

Because the new format didn’t lend itself to guest choreographers, Fabian and other senior members of Dance Company were able to teach their own choreography to the rest of the dancers – something that advanced members usually don’t do until the spring. “Virtual dance is very different and full of challenges,” Fabian said. “But I’m grateful to get to dance with my incredible company members, and amazing teacher, at all.”

In addition to athletes and dancers, preseason brought together students who will participate in fall theater, Gold Key representatives, peer leaders, proctors, Tower staff and Writing Center tutors. The College Counseling Office also provided programming to assist seniors with the college process.