Shamrock Fall 2011 - The Chandler School

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Athletic Director Bill Andersonarticulates a clear vision forChandler’s athletic program thatcarries on from Tom Chandler’slegacy: participation andsportsmanship aboveeverything else. Winning,of course, is great–andin the case of theundefeated girls Asoftball team inthe spring and thechampion boysA basketballteam in the fall,a reality–butChandler’sprimaryobligation is toteach its studentathletesto play thegame and practicegood sportsmanship.The ABCsof ChandlerAthletics
Shamrock Fall 2011 23This modus operandi has a very high success rate:nearly 98% of Middle School students opt to playon at least one Chandler team. Because of thenewly expanded South Campus, Middle Schoolenrollment now stands at 187, meaning there aremore willing athletes than the A and B teams canreasonably accommodate. A teams are typicallymade up of eighth-graders, and seventh-gradersplay on the B team. In response to the wealth ofathletes, Anderson runs a robust C team programfor sports that have an overabundance of eagerplayers at a variety of skill levels.The girls’ C teams compete against the C teams of local schools,but the boys’ C teams are intramural. C teams are inherently lower inpressure and higher in encouragement and fun. These traits are easy tofoster, particularly for the boys’ teams, for whom every game is a homegame against schoolmates.This approach has been tremendously popular. This fall, the boysC football fielded 42 boys on six teams, boys C basketball features 28players on seven teams and girls C volleyball had more than 16 girls.Chandler will also field its first ever boys C soccer teams this year.interestingly, the teams often feature eighth-graders who choose theC team over the A or B team. “For many of the eighth-grade participants,this is the last opportunity to play in an organized situation,”Anderson says. The C team offers the chance to play theirposition of choice–a chance they might not have had on theA or B team. This was certainly the case for C football, where“some of the boys would have made A or B team but theyopted to play C because they want to have a greater role,”says Anderson.while a C program requires time to schedule gamesand hire referees for games, Anderson is glad todo it. “This is a great problem to have. Someof these kids will go on to play in high schooland do well. Some of them, this is their lastopportunity to get consistent playing time ina coached environment. C teams are a greatside effect that comes with the focus of a K-8school,” he says.
Page 4 and 5: Founders’ DayChandler’s Founder
Page 6: Middle School Hits a Growth SpurtFo
Page 11 and 12: Shamrock Fall 2011 9The English cla
Page 13 and 14: Shamrock Fall 2011 11Iclearly remem
Page 15: Shamrock Fall 2011 13The new South
Page 21: Shamrock Fall 2011 19Eszter Lengyel
Page 26 and 27: 24www.ChANDlERSChool.ORGMeet theNew
Page 28: 1005 Armada DrivePasadena, CA 91103

Shamrock Fall 2011 - The Chandler School

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