Choose Challenge: Highlanders Set the Standard at Preseason

“I wanted to come early and meet the team and start early,” said Lollia D’Urso ’27, a defender for the Varsity Field Hockey team, who felt the program benefited new and returning Highlanders. “Over the four days, I think we can all say that we really improved. It's a good opportunity to meet people, especially if you're new.” 

“We were able to introduce the students in a very positive way to their varsity athletics experience,” said Colleen Fink P’30, Athletic Director, Dean of Co-Curricular Activities, and Head Coach for Varsity Field Hockey. She noted that one of the benefits of the program is that it provides students, especially those who are new, a smooth transition to Gunn at the start of the school year.

“It felt like, ‘We're back. We are together. We're building community. We're building a culture of excellence,’” Fink said. “Everyone wanted to be here — coaches and students. And when you have that type of energy, it's contagious.”

Antony Howard P’30, Head Coach for Boys Varsity Soccer, agreed. “From a team bonding standpoint, it was awesome,” Howard said, noting that the 32 students trying out for his team came to preseason ready to focus purely on soccer. “The days were hard work. We trained hard. It was hot, but we would go to breakfast as a group. We'd be on the field. We wouldn't have to rush back. We would take our time at lunch. Then we had nutrition lectures, which were great. And then we’d go back out on the field, and go to dinner. It was a very nice pace, especially for new students because they didn't have to worry about getting to practice from class. So for them, it was a nice introduction to the school.”

The nutrition session was led by Dana White, a consultant and registered dietitian who works with DI athletes at Quinnipiac University, and focused on the way athletes should fuel and hydrate, and the things they should avoid, such as some popular energy drinks. The mental performance session was led by Fink, who has developed best practices based on her 15 years as Head Field Hockey Coach at the University of Pennsylvania. The framework she shared with students and coaches incorporates her work with Piers Kowalski, a certified mental performance consultant, the Penn Athletics Wharton Leadership Academy, and the Positive Psychology Center at Penn.

Students were introduced to the Gunn Athletics infrastructure, with orientation sessions in the Emerson Fitness Center and Athletic Training Center, along with professional standards that help to establish a culture of excellence from day one. In fact, the program centered on the theme “Choose Challenge,” which Fink explained using the analogy of running up a steep hill during a cross-country meet.

“When you're running up a steep hill, you actually have to lean into the hill. You can't lean out, or you won't make any progress. So we are focused on the idea of choosing challenge, and helping students understand that they have the skills they need to be able to lean in to the challenge of any particular moment — whether that’s in their classrooms or out on the field,” she said, adding: “During this school year, students will be hearing teachers and coaches talk about choosing challenge as a consistent message across all sports and all spheres, and what that says is, ‘We choose challenge here.’”

Ethan Meyer ’27, who is planning to play football for Hamilton College next year, suggested that participating in Preseason could give Gunn’s athletic teams a competitive edge. “That's four extra days that maybe another team is not using to get better,” Meyer said. “We did a lot of conditioning. It was actually really fun. I did learn a bit. The mental performance training with Coach Fink was really helpful. So not only are you getting better, but you're also learning new things — not just in your sport, but in general — about fitness, nutrition, and how important those things are, which I think is really helpful for the future.”

Varsity Football, which has its home opener against Proctor Academy on September 26, is coming into the season off a championship win last fall. “Obviously we have a lot of momentum going into the year. Everyone's doing great, working hard,” Meyer said.

In the days after Preseason, Max Marchiony, Head Coach for Boys Rowing, expressed optimism about his team’s fall season. “It's nice to see guys coming back from a summer away from campus, a lot of whom spent the summer rowing and making some progress. There have been real transformations over the summer, where it's clear that a lot of the guys have leaned into rowing as a sport, not just for school, but for their own lives as well,” he said. 

“Late summer and early fall is one of the best times to be out on the water. It's absolutely gorgeous, it's nice and sunny and to be able to get off campus, go to the boathouse, spend time on Lake Waramaug is really a privilege,” Marchiony said.

The early start also helped the rowing team to prepare for its first regatta of the season, the Mohawk Fall Classic in Scotia, New York. “It was great to see them earlier, and just to be able to get on the water, and start setting the tone for the season earlier,” Marchiony said of the rowing team members, explaining, “We have ambitions to race more with the top boat this year than we did last fall. Our racing season is going to start at the end of September, so it's really important that we got out on the water and started taking strokes earlier than we did last year.”

The rowing program has been restructured to make it more competitive, and Preseason played a key part in that. “With Preseason, we only had returners who were competitive and looking to be in that top boat for the season, and they really bonded well together. It was clear to see that everybody was sort of operating at a higher level,” Marchiony said.

Photos by Robby Zacharias and Ali Heck Southworth