November Update from Athletic Director

Dear Regents friends and families,
 
This month we are taking the opportunity to focus most of this newsletter on what physical activity looks like at Regents School. As Athletic Director, this is a topic that is obviously near and dear to my heart. Our bodies matter - not just as a means to an end, but as vessels created by God that reflect His image.

Obviously when we compete, we want to win and want to do well, but more importantly, whatever we do we want to bring honor and glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Whether we win or we lose, we walk away from a game and we want to be able to shake hands and say, “hey great job.”

We’ve been blessed and fortunate as a school to have some very good teams. If you go to the Logic & Rhetoric School campus, you’ll see a lot of plaques on the wall. When I installed the shelves for the trophy wall initially, I thought, "how are we ever going to fill these shelves?" And the ironic thing is that now we have so many trophies that the last few are in storage for when we have a gym because we just don’t have room for them. But the reality is that those plaques and trophies will get dusty and old and nobody will care about them as time goes on. But what will endure are a student's confidence in their body, the relationships, and the knowledge they were part of something bigger than themselves.

The things I remember from year to year are where a team starts compared to where they end; I love watching team chemistry as the seasons unfold. I remember the students who try something new and start envisioning themselves as athletes - something a small school like ours makes possible. It’s always nice to talk about wins and losses but what really sticks out to me is watching our coaches honestly signal to the officials of the volleyball game when the ball was in or out on our side when the official can’t see. That is something that a lot of teams even in our Christian conference just don’t do. What sticks with me over the long-term are the students who really step up to the challenge and commit to something bigger than themselves, as well as the ones who maybe don't get on the court much but who cheer so hard from the sidelines that they are the heart of the team. Those are the things that stand out to me more than any win or loss.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the whole Regents community for your overwhelming support at the Gala recently that enabled us to fully meet all $30,000 of the donor match for that night. These funds will be used in part to purchase two activity buses (known to be safer than 15 passenger vans), which our coaches will be able to use to transport students to games without needing a commercial license. If you are acquainted with our older fleet of buses, you will know that reliable transportation is a huge issue for our school and we are thankful for how you stepped up so generously to make this happen. In addition to these buses, the remainder of the funds raised that night and through the holiday season will be used to hire an armed security guard at the new campus.

Please let me know if you have any questions about our teams, P.E. classes, or how we incorporate movement throughout the day at Regents.

Sincerely,

Travis Johnson
Athletic Director