Working Toward Your "Personal Best"
Boys Athletic Club Builds Fitness through Personal Accomplishment

Jesse Bracho's enthusiastic description of Boys' Athletic Club in the 2008 Cobbler's Knoll included the word, accomplishment, a lot. It also ended with the statement, "I'm truly looking forward to next year's [team], which I know will be filled with as much fun as this one."

In a school where full participation is the rule, the Boys' Athletic Club is an alternative to ice hockey for the winter athletic season. Although hockey is one of Upland's core traditions, not every student who comes into the school plays hockey or ice skates. In looking for a way to provide the character building benefits of sports (hard work, determination, good sportsmanship, and team work) in an alternate program, Assistant Athletic Director Annmarie Stancato has built Boys' Athletic Club into something special. Combining a cross-training strategy of running, swimming and weight training with participation in local 5K Runs, BAC kids are always striving to improve their personal bests, be it with running times or additional laps in the pool, and the results are exciting and impressive.

This year's BAC consists of 9th graders Jesse Bracho, Bryson Deane, José Mesén, and Graham Mortenson; 7th Graders Ross Karwath, James Lewis, Tristen Sieminski, and Thomas Schorn; and 6th grader Logan Elvin. Each week, the boys switch it up between running near Upland and heading to the Hockessin Athletic Club, where they can be found doing laps in the pool, circuit training in the weight room or on the treadmill. It is on the van rides to Hockessin, says Coach Stancato, that the boys bond and team spirit and friendships develop.

The BAC participates in the Athlete's Closet Winter 5K series, which included runs in December and February. Coach Stancato proudly revealed that everyone's running times improved between the two races and Thomas Schorn, who placed second in his age group in the December run, placed first in the February race. Another accomplishment worth noting is that 7th grader Ross Karwath has shaved 10 minutes off his running time since last year.
Of all the boys' accomplishments, however, Coach Stancato is most excited about the two boys who began the season as non-swimmers and who are now swimming laps. "These boys have accomplished so much during these past weeks in developing an important life skill. I am so proud of them!"

When the 9th Grade BAC boys head to Finland next month, they will add cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing as well as runs along Turku's Aura River to their training regimen. So it seems that Jesse was right on the money in his yearbook article. This year is again proving to be one filled with fun, friendship and accomplishment!

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Upland Hosts 10th Annual
Girls' Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament

This past weekend Upland Country Day School played host to the 10th Annual Girls' Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament at the John M. Cleveland Rink on the Upland campus. The Upland team, which has won seven of the past nine tournaments, was very excited to host the four other teams coming to the Kennett Square area for the weekend. New Canaan Country School was down from Connecticut to defend their title from the previous year. Also returning for the tournament were Holton Arms School from D.C., Lansdale Catholic School from Lansdale, PA, and local club team, the Chester County Skating Club.

As the growth of girls' hockey has hit the Northeast, the tournament has had to expand as well. The Tournament, which started in 1999, has expanded from a four-team, one-day tournament to its present five-team, two-day showcase of excellent girls' hockey. Other teams that have participated in the past have been Radnor High School, Princeton High School and Stuart Country Day School. Many alumnae of the tournament have gone on to have stellar careers at some prestigious New England Prep schools, such as The Taft School, Hotchkiss, Loomis Chaffee, Exeter, Deerfield Academy, Millbrook, and Westminster School.

As in the past, this year's tournament featured some exciting girls' ice hockey, as well as great sportsmanship and team comaraderie. The first game featured a hard fought battle between the Chester County Skating Club and host Upland. Though both teams had many scoring opportunities, CCSC won 3-0. Upland ended up winning one game and coming in fourth. CCSC won one game, tied two others, and lost one game to Lansdale. Lansdale won the tournament, by winning all four of its games, and the honor of taking home the Clee Edgar Cup. The cup was named after the founder of the Upland girls' hockey program and current Head of the Upper School, Clee Edgar. At the closing ceremonies, tournament coaches chose MVP's for each team. 9th grader Erin Nolan and 8th graders Liza Hendriks and Devon Young were named Upland's MVPs.

Upland's girls' hockey program presently has two teams, a Varsity and a JV team, and Chester County Skating Club, which also skates out of the John M. Cleveland rink, has a U-16 and a U-12 team. Upland's girls travel throughout the Mid-Atlantic region during the course of their season and go to Finland to play, tour and stay with host families every other year. As the growth of girls' ice hockey continues throughout the United States, one of the hottest areas to play is right here in Kennett Square.

Check out the latest girls' ice hockey pics by clicking here!

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Upland Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament in its 35th Year!

The Upland Boys' Varsity Ice Hockey Team tied for third place at the 35th Annual Upland Country Day School Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament on January 17 and 18, 2009. The Upland Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament is the oldest Junior School Ice Hockey Tournament in North America, and is believed to be the longest running Junior School tournament in any sport. Teams competing this year with Upland were tournament winners The Rectory School (Pomfret, CT, second place finishers New Canaan Country School (New Canaan, CT);) and Greenwich Country Day School (Greenwich, CT); and The Rumsey Hall School (Washington Depot, CT), which tied with Upland for third place.

The first tournament was held in 1975, and was founded by Dr. John M. Cleveland, the father of Upland ice hockey and varsity ice hockey coach from 1964-1981. He was also Upland's Head of School from 1964-1985. In the first tournament, Upland hosted Greenwich Country Day School, a fellow junior school, and three club hockey teams. Since then, sixteen different teams have competed in the tournament. The tournament field has been comprised exclusively by Junior Schools since the 1995 tournament, and the field has consisted of the five schools competing this year since 1998.

Each year, the tournament plays host to competitive hockey played between well-coached, disciplined teams with similar program philosophies of developing student athletes to compete academically and athletically at the next level. More notably, many tournament participants - even those who have gone on to play in prep school and college - consider the tournament one of their most memorable athletic experiences.

Tournament alumni frequently dot the rosters of the extremely competitive prep school programs in New England as well as NCAA programs. Tournament alumni have gone on to play at such academically and athletically competitive prep schools as Phillips Academy (Andover), Phillips Exeter Academy, The Lawrenceville School, The Hill School, The Taft School, Choate-Rosemary Hall, South Kent School and St. George's School among others. Tournament participants have gone on to play NCAA ice hockey at colleges such as Harvard University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Amherst College, St. Lawrence University, the University of Maine, Connecticut College, Bowdoin College, Hobart College and Colby College. The most notable tournament alumnus is former Olympian and New York Ranger Mike Richter. Richter competed as a member of the Wissahickon Skating Club team in 1980 and 1981, and was named to the All-Tournament team in 1981. He later went on to star at the Northwood School and the University of Wisconsin before embarking on a stellar career with the New York Rangers, winning the Stanley Cup in 1994 and the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. Another notable tournament alumnus is Niclas Lucenius, a 2005 graduate of Upland Country Day School, who was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the Fourth Round of the 2007 National Hockey League Draft.

This is the first tournament win for The Rectory School. Rumsey Hall School won the previous two years. While Upland and Greenwich have each captured the tournament title ten times, Upland did not win its first tournament championship until 1983, in the tournament's ninth year. New Canaan has won the tournament four times, and has placed second an astonishing thirteen times. At the closing ceremonies, tournament coaches chose MVP's for each team. 9th graders Jere Linden and goalie Aleksi Seljänne and 8th grader Brett Tracy were named Upland's MVPs for the tournament.

Upland boasts the only on-campus ice rink in the area, and in the Mid-Atlantic region, only The Hill School, The Lawrenceville School and Princeton Day School have supported a scholastic ice hockey program as long as Upland has.

Adapted from a press release written by Upland alum and former teacher and coach, Charlie Gerbron '95

Note: A Junior School is one that supports an academic program of grades kindergarten through nine.

Check out the latest boys' ice hockey pics by clicking here!

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Volleyball Team Finishes Season on a High Note!

The Upland Girls' Varsity Volleyball Team finished their season with a spirited win against Academy of New Church. The team finished the season with a record of 4 wins and 6 losses, but that record was not indicative of the teamwork and determination that developed over the course of the season. Cohesion and solidarity marked this final game as the girls worked together for every point, encouraging each other to stay focused and confident.

Sitting down a couple of days later with co-captains Becca Gray, Lauren Reinas and Ronja Ojala, it was easy to discover the source of the girls' enthusiasm. "We had so much fun working together and getting to know each other," said Becca. Lauren continued, "We went from being a group of girls with a variety of individual skills and strengths to a unified team." "As we got to know each other, we learned to work together and, most importantly, to trust each other," added Ronja.

The three girls animatedly discussed how daily practices, scrimmages with the JV team and the van rides to away games built the team's skill and camaraderie. According to the tri-captains, the ninth grade players really enjoyed mentoring the younger students and felt that such leadership opportunities are a valuable part of their ninth grade experience. They also noted that, as the team learned to trust and depend on each other, the level of play improved and matches became much more competitive and exciting.

One of the highlights of the season was when the team beat Rumsey Hall in the Upland Invitational Volleyball Tournament in January. Rumsey has been a tournament regular for many years, but Upland has not defeated them since 1998.

The girls were also very complimentary of their coaches, Peter Hayes and Beth Lindsay, appreciating the way that both coaches kept the teams focused and positive with their encouragement and advice. "Mr. Hayes always has these funny little tips - and they really work," Becca said. "We love the little stories he is always telling us to keep us motivated!" Congratulations, team, on a very upbeat season.

Check out the latest girls volleyball pics by clicking here!

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Sports Teams Prepare for Annual Ligonier Tournament
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