Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/93284
ATHLETICS Becoming a Latin Athlete "Later in life, kids become more competitive and it is more about winning. Now it's about making friends and enjoying being active." – Ted Rice During a recent November afternoon, some Latin School basketball players were engaged in the serious business of working on their dribbling, layups, passing and guarding skills. There was little talk, much focus and thoughtful direction on the part of the coaches. Although similar to the drills that varsity practices start with, the players here were third and fourth graders participating in the lower school's long-running Superstars Sports League. The coaches were members of the Latin boys varsity basketball team, some of whom first learned their skills in Superstars years ago. Since 1989, Superstars has been Latin's unique way of introducing competitive athletics to lower school students. This year, third and fourth grade students have the opportunity to participate in basketball in the late fall, volleyball in the winter and playground games in the spring. One day per week, coaches and members of Latin's upper school boys and girls teams come to the lower school to lead skills sessions relevant to the various sports. They then host mini competitions based on the skills. Approximately 40 to 60 students participate in each of these sessions. Another 60 third and fourth graders also ran with the lower school cross country team in September and October – for many, the first experience in interscholastic sports. The mission of both programs is to begin building the strong foundation of skills and values that will serve students as they move on to become middle and upper school athletes. They provide opportunities for lower schoolers to learn the language of sports, and the rules of games and to build their abilities and strength. More fundamentally, they teach children life- long lessons about sportsmanship and being part of a team. "Cross country and Superstars are a sort of right of passage in the lower school," said Ted Rice, the lower school athletics coordinator. "Lower schoolers look forward to being able to participate as third graders, and they feel very proud about being part of a team." Lower school athletes learning new skills and discovering new passions. 20 Latin Magazine