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working out... and a way for them to stay connected to the team.”
As Thornton Academy’ s upper school athletic teams awaited news about the future of fall athletics programming, coaches remained active in creating meeting and training opportunities in the absence of traditional summer camps and leagues. Golden Trojan field hockey coach Lori Smith’ 88“ gathered” via Zoom with candidates for her program on a weekly basis during the summer months; in those meetings, Smith communicated detailed plans related to student-athlete cardiovascular fitness, speed training, and nutrition. In addition, she identified a“ skill of the week” for students to hone on their own. Offering video links to high-level field hockey games and instructional segments, Smith facilitated two-way communication as students worked on those skills.“ I encouraged players to video themselves work on the skills and to send them to me,” she stated,“ if they would like feedback on technique or corrections that will help them be successful.”
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Similarly, head football coach Kevin Kezal conducted meetings with his players throughout the late spring as a means of checking in, encouraging students to remain safe, and stressing the importance of their academics. |
In late June and July, the focus of the meetings shifted to strength and conditioning workouts that players could complete at home.“ I am more concerned about our players’ mental well-being than getting themselves physically ready for the season,” observed Kezal, who noted that“ our coaching staff will take care of [ the sport-specific components ] once we are hopefully able to begin practices.” According to Thornton Academy girls ' soccer coach Natalie Sharland’ 03, her program“ has approached this summer with the exact same attitude that we have taken in the past. The circumstances most certainly have changed, but our mentality has not.” Sharland has stressed the importance of“ controlling what you can control.”“[ N ] o one knows what this fall will bring,” she noted,“ but... our players have dedicated themselves to being ready.” In addition to weekly meetings that communicate and emphasize individual improvement in sportspecific skills, Sharland has utilized online platforms to foster team cohesion and to communicate program culture. She has posted weekly freshman player profiles on Twitter, offered team technical challenges on a given skill, and shared articles as“ homework.” |
Despite the challenges posed by delivering instruction about athletics through what are relatively unfamiliar and unconventional platforms, Thornton Academy’ s athletic coaches have been impressed by the effort and attitude shown by the school’ s student athletes— even in isolation.“ I truly miss seeing our players in person,” confessed Natalie Sharland,“ but I’ m very proud of the dedication our players have shown during our‘ remote summer season.’” Kevin Kezal echoed this sentiment and speaks for all of the coaches of the department:“[ We ] really miss our teams!” |
Thornton Academy will return to face-to-face athletic programming when the time is right. Despite the loss of competitive opportunities and the day-to-day interactions that are the hallmark of school sports, the school’ s athletic coaches have utilized both the tools at their disposal and their own creative instincts to enhance the connective tissues that form the basis of their programs. Without a script in their hands, they have written a new playbook for conducting athletics during arguably the greatest challenge in the history of education-based athletics. |
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