The student section at the white-out homecoming football game. Photo credit: Dr. Wales.

With a newly full Upper School, many fall sports teams had their first varsity seasons. GCDS’s fall athletic teams experienced the highs and lows of sports, but their ability to come together made many great seasons!

Volleyball

Chloe and Savannah go up for a block against King. Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

Varsity volleyball had a busy, competitive season, playing a total of 15 games and two scrimmages throughout the season. Their FAA season ended with a loss to St. Luke’s in the quarterfinals but continued with an appearance in the NEPSAC tournament.

According to Chloe, a 12th grader and captain of the volleyball team, the team’s season, “was actually pretty good. This is our first year as a varsity volleyball team at GCDS and then we were 8th in New England, which is pretty awesome.”

However, alongside the glory of their wins, they had to navigate through sickness and injury–everything from rampant colds to concussions. Chloe remembers, “I got hit in the face. Maya sprained something… A lot of us got sick this last week, so not a great end to the season, but it’s ok.” With a successful season behind them, girls’ varsity volleyball is looking forward to more successful seasons on the horizon. 

Water Polo

Water polo posing with their NEPSAC runner-up trophy! Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

Water polo started their season with two goals in mind: Make it to the NEPSAC Championship, and put GCDS on the map for water polo. 

Despite initial setbacks, they achieved their goal of making it to championships, as they took home the second place trophy at NEPSAC–completing a season of 18 regular season games and five tournament games. Reese, a junior says that the pursuit of those goals did not come without challenges: “We had a lot of moments where we were either in close games or we were missing our best players and then we had to play without them.” 

This achievement couldn’t be possible without the sportsmanship of the team. Reese says that “learning from teammates, improving every day, and spending time with some cool people,” were a few of many things that made water polo’s first varsity season so successful.

Field Hockey

An intrasquad field hockey scrimmage. Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

The team’s returning athletes brought the core value of support with them to practices and games and taught it to the new team’s new players. When it comes to the success of the field hockey team, Charlotte, a junior,  says, “In order to perform our best, we always came together to support each other as a team on and off the field.” 

Varsity field hockey played a total of 18 regular season games this fall and went on to the FAA quarterfinals, bowing out to Sacred Heart Greenwich. As Charlotte reflects on her season, a moment that sticks out to her is the team’s first goal. She recalls, “we hadn’t won a game yet, we weren’t feeling too hot… and in our game against Holy Child, someone got the first goal and after that, we were rolling, we just kept getting goals!”

Crew

The girls’ crew team out at practice. Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

The crew team’s season provided exciting opportunities in large regional regattas–including one in Philadelphia–gaining experience, strength, and enthusiasm in their sport. 

In the end, as Matteo, a 12th grader, reminisced about his final high school crew season, concluding, “[crew season] was very rewarding. We pushed through all our setbacks, and we had the best season we possibly could. We were all very proud of how the season went.”

Football

Varsity football’s team photo. Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

Football

Whether they were in the weight room, on the turf, or watching film, the football team dedicated themselves —mentally and physically— to having the best season they could. Their efforts went far in their second season; Varsity Football won 5 of their 8 games, but unfortunately did not qualify for playoffs.

With a program of over 50 players, their various experiences bonded the players as teammates on the field and as friends off the field. Cal, a 12th grader, says the team “came together in a way I have never seen before.” Bobby, an 11th grader, has similar thoughts. He says, “The team’s kind of like a brotherhood because everyone knows each other, everyone’s friends, and I think that really helped our play a lot… we all had that connection with each other.” 

However, the bonds of the team did not come without their tribulations–specifically injury. As Seneca, a freshman, reflects on his first-ever season with the football team, he concludes, “[football] was so fun and I learned a lot–it was my first time ever playing football… I have a tear in my ACL but I still think it’s is fun, and if I could get it healed I would play again.” Having an amazing homecoming game and beating our rivals is just the tip of the iceberg for this season, and next season is sure to bring more!

Cross Country

Cross country (and their new medals) after the NEPSAC championship. Photo credit: Coach Reynolds

Cross country’s season progressed through sunshine and rain, on trail or track, and in and out of state, bringing them a successful season. At the FAA Championship, the boys’ team finished third in the FAA and the girls’ team finished fifth after losing their third runner, Carolina, a 12th grader, the day before the Championship race. Landon, a 10th grader, rues the close calls of the FAA championship, saying, “[Boys cross country] was third in the FAA—we were only three points off Brunswick, so second place is very close for next year.” The runners took their excitement from FAAs to NEPSAC where both teams placed in the top ten.

With all the beautiful chaos brought on by the season, Harrison, a 9th grader, says, “we tried our hardest and ran as fast as we could… We were really close as a team and we bonded well; we did activities together, so it was fun. I would say it was a very successful season.” This successful season gives the lowerclassmen –and their future teammates– a bright future to look forward to, and gives the Seniors a season to look back on fondly for years to come.

Girls Soccer

Mia pushing for possession against Greenwich Academy. Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

With a new head coach, two new assistant coaches, and seven senior athletes, the girls’ soccer team had an exciting season in more ways than one. They made it to the FAA quarterfinals, with a regular season consisting of 17 games. Stella, an 11th grader, noted that even when they did not win games, “there was a lot of care and effort really put into the games and I think you could see that.”

The team’s chemistry wasn’t found solely in competitive settings. The main thing that bonded the athletes was the quality time they spent together off the field. Ellie says, “We were really close as a team and we had Friday night pasta dinners and a lot of long bus rides so we became really close and it helped us. We didn’t win many games but our team bonding really helped us reach our goals.” Stella also emphasized that “a big high for [the girls’ soccer team] was winning our homecoming Friday Night Lights game and the Holy Child game that got us into the tournament. I think losing the first game of the tournament against St. Luke’s was a low, but it was a good end to the season because we put our all into it.”

Boys Soccer

Elation after the school’s first FAA Championship victory! Photo credit: @gcdsathletics on Instagram

Boys soccer took the FAA by storm this season, bringing home the championship trophy. Before they took the trophy, they had a very successful regular season with 15 regular season games (10 wins, five losses). 

According to Matteo, a 9th grader, the beginning of the season did not bring much success. He says, “We started off pretty bad. We were still trying to figure out how to play with each other. The first three games were tough and then we started to build from there.” According to Matteo, progress started as the team started to “mentally focus more because we were all technical players and we didn’t know what to do with the ball; we were all way too anxious with the ball and didn’t know how to calm down.”

As the season went on, the team grew closer as teammates and as friends and the team’s enthusiasm was contagious throughout the GCDS Upper School community. The student section supported the team at their championship game at Greens Farms Academy and those who couldn’t attend in person watched live-streamed footage from their classrooms back at Stanwich Campus. With their new trophy in hand, boys’ soccer is sure to have a bright future.