Athletics

The goals of the Department of Athletics align directly with the mission of the school. The three components of the program – Competitive Sports, Wellness, and Physical Education – integrate aspects of the physical, intellectual, and spiritual to teach students how to live more balanced, and thus more productive, lives.

Through the challenges of Competitive Sports, Altamont athletes learn to give their best effort, to work well with others in achieving a common goal, to respect opponents, and to conduct themselves graciously on and off the playing field. Participation in our competitive athletics program allows our Student Athletes to learn and apply the skills and reinforce the principles that will help them improve the fabric of society: Character, Leadership, Sportsmanship, Teamwork, Collaboration, Sacrifice, and Discipline.

The Wellness Program, which is geared to the entire Altamont community, serves to improve the understanding of the requirements of physical and mental health from youth through the decades after graduation. We provide knowledge, facilities, and opportunities for students, faculty, parents, and alumni to develop a deeper understanding of their bodies both through exercise and study.

The Physical Education program blends the above two components by teaching students the basic technical skills required to participate in a variety of interscholastic sports and provides them with a platform to develop those skills almost daily in a competitive team setting. At the same time, recognizing that not all students will go on to play interscholastic sports on the varsity level or beyond, the program introduces students to the requirements and importance of a healthy lifestyle, nurturing them from their first day here to what will become a lifetime of wellness.

All students in grades 5th through 9th participate in daily physical education classes, divided by gender. Each class begins with a ten to fifteen minute dynamic warmup. This warmup focuses on four different areas to improve functional performance in our athletes and allows them to get quicker and more explosive as they get older:

• decrease injury in movement
• increase functional strength
• increase overall joint stability and movement
• improve coordination

The school year is divided into units of specific sports. The basic technical skills required of the sport are taught at the beginning of the unit, then the students compete with each other in that sport for an average of three weeks, often culminating in a class-wide tournament. Some of the sports played include volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball, tennis, badminton, floor hockey, track and field, archery, golf, weight training, ultimate frisbee, and flag football. Additionally, the Presidential Physical Fitness Test is administered to students each year.