I’ve been doing lots of research online and I can’t seem to find much information on the athletics culture at Choate. The website lists all of the sports they offer, but that seems to be all.
Does anyone know if athletics are required at Choate?
In addition, how are new students to athletics treated? Are they accepted into the JV teams or is there little chance for them to try new sports?
I saw that they have thirds teams for some of the sports, so I’m guessing that anyone can get into those, but what about the sports without thirds teams?
Freshmen are expected to play sports all three seasons, either on a regular team or intramural. There are some fun options (rock climbing is popular this season for example) in addition to traditional sports. As for how competitive, it is very sport dependent, and in general more competition to get on the boys’ teams than girls though there are exceptions. As for trying new sports, you can absolutely get on the JV football (though not necessarily get on the field) or water polo team without having played before, possibly field hockey (girls only) as well. Even some of the thirds team do cut, not sure if boys soccer did this year but boys basketball definitely did. If you tell us which sports are you interested in and if boy or girl I may be able to tell you more.
I’m female and I’ve done one season of cross country and did really bad. I’m not entirely sure of what other sports I want to try but on the form I put track, archery, crew, and a few others I can’t remember
That should be fine, crew definitely has a lot of kids who try it there for the first time, and cross country and track do not cut. I am not sure how many kids they take for archery, but again that’s something most try for the first time. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
@Teahupo I’ve not heard anything about that, although it’d be cool. With the recent addition of Colony Hall and complete renovation going down right now on Hill House I doubt it’ll be soon.
Choate’s athletics rules depend on grade. Freshmen-juniors have to do 2 terms of sweat sports + one other afternoon activity—of course, kids can do 3 terms but in my case I do 1 term of theater and 2 terms of athletics. Far as I know, none of my friends have had any issues integrating with and trying out for sports teams. It really depends on the sport for exclusivity—for example, it’s really hard to make JV squash if you have no experience, but JV baseball is a different story. Some thirds teams cut, like volleyball and basketball, but not all.
This is a fact not a speculation, most of the money has already been raised and they are supposed to break ground next summer. Now not sure if the Hill fire and rebuilt needed there will cause delay or if it is entirely separate but it is has been in the works for a while. The old rink is then supposed to be turned into indoor winter athletic facility (turf).
Having just one rink and 4 teams presents scheduling challenges for practice times for sure, but unlike at some other schools I really don’t know there is a demand for thirds hockey teams. Definitely not on girls’ side as the JV team is no cut already so any girl who wants to play can, there were some cuts on boys’ JV but doubtful that it would have been enough for another team.
After the first year at Choate, there is also the option, if a student doesn’t want to do two seasons of a sweat sport, to join the Arts Concentration program, which has competitive admissions and allows students to focus on practicing their arts discipline (dance, theater, music, or visual arts) in the afternoon instead of doing a physical activity for two of the three seasons. The student would then only do a sweat sport for one season.
In addition to non-competitive sport options like farming, theater/theater tech, and hiking, there is also the ARC (Advanced Robotics Concentration), as an option to replace the winter season sport. Like the Arts Con program, a student applies to ARC during freshman year or later, and uses the afternoon sports time for robotics team practice instead of physical activity. The robotics team is open to non-ARC members for Sunday afternoon practices during the fall and spring, but only ARC members do the intense every-afternoon preparation for the FIRST Robotics competition over the winter, and then attend the competitions.
Both the Arts Con program and ARC, like Choate’s other signature programs (https://www.choate.edu/academics/signature-programs) have an academic component (required classes) also. Choate is a great place for well-rounded kids who want to do it all, as well as serious athletes and serious non-athletes. There is so much to offer both academically and outside the classroom that the challenge is to try to find the right balance and not stress yourself out trying to do too much.
The lack of a fully functional league site for the NE boarding schools has always been a head scratcher to me. I know that wouldn’t give you a look into the Choate culture, but finding sports info in general for most schools is at the mercy of the individual athletic pages. If your child attends a school all is well because you know where to look. When you are looking for info as a student-athlete applicant, it is shockingly hard to find league standings, results, and information.