POLY ATHLETICS
Athletics, at its best, should feel like an extension of play: fun, engaging, and healthy. Our program, headed by a three-time Olympic coach, gets Poly students moving every day. Whether your athletic goals are staying active and healthy, playing collegiate sports, or becoming a professional athlete, we give students the physical and mental resources to succeed. From Nursery through Grade 12, our fitness program takes students through a progression of games and skills that foster a lifelong love of activity while also positioning them to be able to take their sports dreams to the next level.
Active Start We believe in the power of play. In Lower School, daily active play is an integral part of the students’ physical education. During free play, teachers supervise as children use their imagination to create inclusive games. While firmly rooted in fun, our P.E. classes help our youngest students learn fundamental movement skills though challenging activities and non-competitive games. As time progresses, students gain competency and confidence in their physical abilities, and are able to synthesize these skills. • Balancing • Climbing • Skipping
• Jumping • Catching • Kicking
Fundamentals By second grade, students have mastered the basic building blocks and continue to develop and refine their gross motor skills. While keeping joy front and center, multisport play introduces new games and the ethos of sportsmanship to the curricula. Kids explore the various challenges presented by sports and improve their agility, balance, coordination, and speed. • Handball • Gatorball • Soccer
• Hockey • Lacrosse • Basketball
MEET T HE ATH L ETES
Oliver McCarthy ’18 Duke ’22 Left-handed pitcher Oliver McCarthy not only was signed to play for Duke University as a senior, but was also a force on the court for the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team, earning him the Thomas Cullen MVP Trophy. Oliver helped lead the Poly Blue Devils Baseball team to the NYSAIS state championships and was ranked the #4 player in New York.
Maggie Fort ’19 Fairfield University ’23
Shanniah Wright ’18 Georgetown ’22
Maggie Fort was named a 2018 US Lacrosse All-American, but the talent doesn’t stop there: she was a multisport athlete and an imposing presence on Varsity Girls’ Basketball and Varsity Girls’ Soccer. Maggie won Poly’s Charles Beale Memorial Trophy honoring the freshman who made the greatest contribution in athletics at Poly and also earned the Yale Cup awarded to the junior who has made the greatest contribution to athletics at Poly.
Shanniah Wright, an ESPN Class of 2018 Top 100 player, scored more than 2,000 points—a school record for girls’ and boys’ basketball —during her career at Poly before signing to play for Georgetown University. She won Poly’s MVP Award for Girls’ Basketball in 2017 and 2018 and was named three times to the Basketball Coaches Association of New York’s Private School First Team All State. Shanniah also served as Spirit Captain on the Student Government, shone as a spoken word artist, and sang in Concert Choir.
Learn to Train By fourth grade, students have become physically literate and are ready to sample the variety of sports that will be available in Middle School. They continue to enjoy both unstructured and structured play, thereby further developing their motor skills while continuing a strong association of fun and creativity with physical exercise. At recess, the playground is filled with activity, from climbing and cartwheeling to kickball and basketball. P.E. introduces warm ups like star jumps, mountain climbers, and planks before students get to dive into their sport unit. As core strength, endurance, and flexibility increase, students spend more time thinking and playing as a team. Team play supports dexterity and fine motor skills, as well as game strategy, camaraderie, and collaboration. These skills are utilized not only on the court or field, but also in all areas of the students’ personal development.
Train to Train All Middle School students take P.E. In Grades 5 and 6, they cycle through the most popular sports, which are taught by the varsity team coaches. By sampling the breadth of athletics, students both expand their general skills, as well as begin to develop predilections for individual sports they would like to focus on. In Grades 7 and 8, the students get the opportunity to do just that by picking one sport each season. At the Middle School level, physical education is designed to help the students develop physically as well as mentally, and to give them the experience and the space to consider what they most enjoy. Their training has now expanded to include an emphasis on competition, as well as sport-specific fitness, strategy, and skill development. By the end of Middle School, students have a strong foundation for lifelong fitness, recreational sports, and a thirst for challenge and competition.
MEET T HE ATH L ETES Sebastian Jalowayski ’18 Bates ’22
Jenna Denaver ’20 Jenna Denaver won the Stanley McGahie Most Valuable Runner Award in 2018. She was part of the Indoor Track & Field relay team that broke Poly’s record for Girls’ 4x800m at the NYS Federation Championship Meet in 2017 and has individually qualified three times for the New York Federation Cross Country and Outdoor Meets. A three-season runner, Jenna is fully immersed in life at Poly. She traveled to Costa Rica in the study abroad program, volunteers with the Advancement department, and is a designer on the yearbook staff. For the third year in a row, Jenna was named MVP for Cross Country.
Sebastian Jalowayski was a three-sport athlete at Poly, playing soccer for four years, hockey for two, and Ultimate for three. He earned the MVP Soccer Award in 2018 and is admired as a leader overall. Sebastian won a gold medal in the National Latin Exam and was inducted into Poly’s Oasis Society, which honors students’ achievements in academics, athletics, extracurriculars, and community service.
Gabriel Cannavo ’19 Brown University ’23 Gabriel Cannavo earned Poly’s Most Valuable Runner/Field Indoor Track Award for 2018. At the competitive Bishop Loughlin Games, Cannavo ran the one mile with a time of 4:31.23. Gabe’s lightning speed wasn’t just on the track: as part of Poly’s three-year science research course, he investigated voltage production in a microbial fuel cells and was the sports editor for the school newspaper.
Fit for Life In Upper School, athletics can be accessed through a variety of routes such that each student has an option that suits them. There are eighteen sports offered at the JV and varsity level, as well as specialized P.E. courses, which allow students to add recreation to their day. Whatever the student’s goal, whether it is general fitness, specialization in one sport, or training to be a three-sport athlete, we provide the support and opportunities to make it happen.
Train to Compete At Poly, we are student-athletes, not athlete-students. Because of that, our coaches are dedicated and passionate professionals who strive to help us win every game, and also understand that education is the top priority. Students learn to work hard in the classroom so they can play hard on the field. In Upper School, students have access to elite and individualized training so they can compete at the highest levels. Poly’s dedication to long-term athlete development is upheld by our state-of-the-art facilities. Our 25-acre campus houses almost all of our sports, while hockey and crew train and compete off the grounds. Our facilities include multiple playing fields, an all-weather track, a cardio training room, a strength and conditioning center, two indoor gyms, nine squash courts, a swimming pool, and a baseball and softball indoor training center.
POLY PREP STATS
MEET T HE ATH L ETES Andrew Leung ’18 Amherst ’22 Andrew Leung was honored with the 2018 Belknap MVP Award for squash. In addition to being a star athlete, Andrew competed as a member of the Upper School Science Olympiad team and was recognized at the 2018 Arts Awards in ceramics. He now plays squash at Amherst.
53 NYSAIS Championships
FOUNDING MEMBER of the Ivy Prep School League
Head of Athletics is a three-time OLYMPIC COACH
265 IVY LEAGUE Championships
Lauren Kauppila ’20 Lauren Kauppila’s impact as a freshman on the Varsity Volleyball team earned her Honorable Mention in Prep Volleyball’s 2016 Frosh 59 list. She was also a setter for the USA Volleyball High Performance Select Continental Team in 2017 and earned Poly’s 2017-18 MVP Volleyball Award. Lauren was the co-winner of Poly’s prestigious Princeton Cup, awarded to the sophomore who has made the greatest contribution in athletics.
11 POLY STUDENTS were recognized as All-American athletes in their sport in 2018
Represents 10 Championships
POLY ATHLETES ARE CURRENTLY PLAYING FOR MANY UNIVERSITIES, INCLUDING Amherst • Boston College • Bowdoin • Brown • Bucknell • Colby • Colgate • Columbia Dartmouth • Duke • Fairfield • Franklin & Marshall • Georgetown • Gettysburg • Grinnell Hamilton • Lehigh • Louisiana State University • Middlebury • New York University • Notre Dame Penn State • Princeton • Rutgers • Stanford • Tufts • University of Connecticut University of Georgia • University of Kansas • University of Miami • University of Michigan University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • University of Vermont • University of Virginia University of Wisconsin • US Naval Academy • Vanderbilt • West Virginia University • Williams
JV AND VARSITY SPORTS Fall: Cross Country Football Soccer Tennis (Girls’) Volleyball (Girls’) Winter: Basketball Fencing (Club team) Hockey Indoor Track and Field Squash Swimming Wrestling Spring: Baseball Crew Golf Lacrosse Outdoor Track and Field Softball Tennis (Boys’) Ultimate Volleyball (Boys’)
Lower School 50 Prospect Park West Brooklyn, NY 11215 718-768-1103
Middle & Upper Schools 9216 Seventh Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11228 718-836-9800