The athletic program for Grades 6 – 8, fourteen teams strong, offers the kind of competitive opportunities that have been proven to help girls of this age achieve higher self-esteem and develop leadership qualities. They learn about the power of teamwork, and they also teach it.
Participation in interscholastic sports is 90%.
Teamwork, as described by the former varsity basketball coach, Joel Lubin:
“The girls’ varsity basketball team, made up of seventh and eighth graders, was one of eight schools participating in the Fay School Girls’ Basketball tournament in January. Unbeknownst to me, the other schools sent their ninth grade teams, and we were definitely the smallest squad. Nevertheless, we made our way up to the semi finals, where we faced an undefeated team, with several girls taller than our tallest. We followed the same recipe as with our previous wins– a full court pressing person-to-person defense– and we won, as I recall, by about 10 points. In the championship game we faced the host school, and it was a very tight contest the whole game. The bottom line, with many thrills along the way, is that we won by 1 point in double overtime. One of our tri-captains was named by a vote of the coaches and referees (unanimously, I’m told), the tournament’s most valuable player. I was very pleased with the poise, skill, and relentless effort on the part of all our girls who participated.”