Try something new, stretch yourself to get better, commit to being a contributor. This is the ethic that powers CCA athletics.
In any given fall or spring season, 70-80% of students on grades 6-12 are coming out for a an interscholastic team. This is how this small school can field competitive teams in eight different sports and also participate in two co-op teams in two other sports with another school. It’s a philosophical commitment to offer students choices that open opportunities rather than narrow them, and we’ve developed the “can do” culture to make it work.
In other settings, students can see as early as 7th grade that they aren’t going to “make the team” or have a future with a high school program. Those students don’t see opportunity ahead so they quit before they’ve developed physically or really had a chance to develop the skills and confidence they could have developed if given a chance.
At CCA, students are encouraged to come out, to develop their skills, and contribute to the team experience. In the process, students develop new competence, they find their contribution makes a difference, and soon they have both the confidence and the skills to play at a new level.