Athletics Philosophy
Our philosophy is that education happens everywhere.
Working out in our sparkling fitness center, playing on a team for an award-winning coach, exploring a new activity—all of this is education, and we take it seriously (and joyfully). We learn about integrity and leadership, creativity and resilience, confidence and character. The results are often impressive: in the past 10 years, more than 300 student-athletes have been named 1st team all-league in the Fairchester Athletic Association, more than 60 teams have ranked in the top five in their FAA division, 27 teams have played in the New England Tournament Finals, and GFA has won the conference’s Sportsmanship Award five times. The way we get those results — the process — is transformative.
Lower School
Our physical education and sports programs in the Lower School focus on staying healthy, learning new skills, and loving being active. Our P.E. teacher is prone to say things like this: “We get outside. We get dirty. We get sweaty. We learn how to take turns, listen to coaching, and work through challenges. The foundation we set for our youngest learners through the sports requirements is an essential part of the Lower School education. We are molding good teammates for life.”
Middle School
In the Middle School, we have a three-season athletic requirement—and a year-round belief in the importance of honoring your own health, testing your abilities, and working with teammates toward a shared goal. You can be athletic in lots of ways, from fitness to field hockey, from recreational skating to interscholastic lacrosse. We’re here to help you love it and learn from it.
Upper School
Our Upper School athletes participate in 50 activities, including interscholastic sports, independent studies, and fitness classes. Our varsity teams feature outstanding coaching (many of our coaches have coached at the college level or competed professionally; five have won Connecticut Coach of the Year), remarkable individual achievement (in the past ten years, we’ve had ten 1,000-point scorers on our varsity basketball teams), and stellar team results (GFA teams are regular finalists in the FAA and New England Prep School Athletic tournaments). Not surprisingly, in any given year, 15–20% of our seniors are recruited athletes at outstanding college programs.
Find our Recent Graduates Playing
LACROSSE at Colby, Holy Cross, Kenyon, Middlebury, Occidental, Penn, Tufts, and the U.S. Naval Academy
CROSS COUNTRY at The University of Chicago
VOLLEYBALL at Dartmouth and Emory
TENNIS at Bowdoin, Connecticut College, Cornell, and Michigan
SOCCER at Franklin & Marshall, Kenyon, Lafayette, and George Washington
SAILING at Connecticut College and George Washington
BASEBALL at Williams
SQUASH at Colby and St. Lawrence
BASKETBALL at Georgetown and Wake Forest
TRACK AND FIELD at Dartmouth
BASKETBALL AT Emory, Georgetown, New York University, Occidental, Pomona, Wake Forest, and Williams
WRESTLING at The University of Chicago
... and this is just a sampling! Click here to see more!
2018–19 By the numbers
42 — FAA First Team Awards
21 — FAA Honorable Mention Awards
3 — FAA Scholar Athletes: Alex Nesi ( field hockey, lacrosse); Sophie Staeger (girls soccer); Will McCall (soccer, track)
18 — NEPSAC Division 3 or Class C First Team Awards
6 — NEPSAC Division 3 or Class C Honorable Mention Awards
13 — Western New England/ NEPSAC All-Stars
2 — Western New England Honorable Mention Awards
1 — Prep School Coach of the Year: Chris Mira, boys soccer
2 — All-American: Nico Provo, wrestling; Kelly Van Hoesen, girls Lacrosse
1 — Academic All-American: Alex Nesi, girls lacrosse
3 — CT All-State First Team Awards
3 — Athletes who reached 1,000 career points, basketball
1 — New England D3 champion, girls cross country
3 — Individual New England champions, wrestling
4 — Individual Western New England champions, wrestling
1 — NESSA champion, Terk Cup Trophy, Sailing
1 — NEPSAC Class C champion, girls tennis
1 — NEPSAC Class C runner-up, volleyball
1 — WNEPSA Class C regular-season champion, boys soccer
1 — WNEPSA Class C regular-season runner-up, field hockey
1 — Individual New England runner-up, boys track and field
1 — Individual FAA champion, girls track and field
3 — FAA runners up, girls soccer, girls lacrosse, boys tennis doubles