Boys Varsity Basketball and Ice Hockey win against tough competition early in the season. Fall athletes were also recognized for their outstanding performances with numerous team and postseason awards.
Athletics
The Power of Perseverance
A Competitive Edge With an Emphasis on Excellence
King Athletics is known for its excellence. The title banners lining the walls of the newly renovated gym demonstrate its prowess. Our coaches are unrivaled in their experience, expertise, commitment, passion, and care, which allows them to support our athletes in every way as educators, leaders, mentors, motivators, and tacticians. Vikings Athletics is very much a part of the fabric of the King community, in both spirit and pride, and the comprehensive and co-curricular nature of the program serves as a foundation for the consistent competitive success of our teams and the experience of our athletes at each level.
There is a spot on a team for every middle and upper school student, and every athletic experience lends itself to learning. We believe in a holistic approach to athletics and offer students a wide range of interscholastic and developmental opportunities in Grades 6-12 by fostering authentic learning, leadership, and relationship-building opportunities. Our varsity teams consistently compete for and win league and New England championships and many of our top athletes are recognized with postseason awards and go on to successful college careers.
Athletics by the Numbers
70
Competitive and Non-Competitive Athletic offerings Grades 6-12
52
FAA League and Tournament Championships
5
25
New England Championships
15
All-American Award Winners
1:1
100%
Students Participate in Athletics and Physical Education
11
Sportsmanship and Citizenship Awards
Performance, Strength, and Conditioning
King has a team in place to support the individual needs of the athletes. We provide a wide range of health services, including a sports medicine team of athletic trainers, strength coaches, and counselors, as well as a coordinator for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Our team of experts helps students train appropriately for the energy systems they need to excel in a given sport. We have a year-round model in place, and our training and coaching experts develop tailored plans to meet the needs of each athlete and to prepare them and their teams to thrive. This approach is essential to improving performance, alleviating injury and fatigue, and excelling in competition.
Learning to Train, Collaborate, and Lead
King Athletics considers character development, leadership, citizenship, and the well-being of our athletes on par with physical aptitude. Therefore, an integral part of our approach to athletics is working with students on how to develop and maintain healthy lifestyles.
Every touchpoint between our athletes and our team of coaches and trainers is part of a carefully crafted scaffolding that supports strength, speed, mobility, growth, and learning. Our athletes’ tailored training plans allow them to achieve their objectives as they develop fluency in how and why the plans are devised. They also learn the importance of their teammates feeling connected and supported as they strive to achieve individual and team goals.
Positive and inclusive cultures are the cornerstone of successful teams. Our Upper School Captain’s Council supports the growth and development of the culture of our teams and provides our varsity and junior varsity team leaders with a voice and platform to directly impact and influence their own experience and the experiences of their peers and fellow athletes. By engaging in interactive and engaging sessions throughout the school year, our captains grow together, build on a wide variety of leadership skills, and develop tools and techniques to help better support their teammates on and off the field.
King Athletics has also earned widespread recognition as an Under Armour “Women of Will” partner school, a national platform promoting high school female athletes. King annually hosts a Women of Will Leadership and Empowerment Day to cultivate and celebrate the school’s female athletes. King also hosts additional workshops, including a Male Athlete Leadership Day, with keynote speakers, team- and culture-building activities, and networking opportunities.
Global Athletics: Training Meets Service
The King Athletics team partners with our Global Studies program and with King Cares, our service learning program, to immerse students in the cultural diversity of local and global environments. This interdisciplinary collaboration has created opportunities for our teams to travel domestically and internationally to train and experience different cultures.
The success of the initiative is clear, with existing programs in China, Colombia, and Japan, and planning in place for additional team travel opportunities in the future.
A Winning Formula
Our winning record reflects our commitment to a holistic approach to athletics. King athletes regularly earn All-New England, All-American, and All-Academic recognitions, and our teams compete each season for league and New England championships.
Our Girls Volleyball team is a force, with 28 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) and Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) titles since 2004, including several undefeated seasons. Ice Hockey took home back-to-back FAA championships, Softball was crowned Western New England champions, and King Track & Field athletes have dominated the competition with numerous gold medals. Our Football, Lacrosse, Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, and Crew teams have also won recent championships. We live-stream games from our fields and our gyms, and our athletes are regularly celebrated by local media outlets in both print and television, with our students often being selected as News 12 Connecticut Scholar-Athletes.
Ask the winning teams how they maintain their record, and the responses are peppered with language stemming from the Athletics Department’s core values of leadership, commitment, teamwork, and perseverance. Our culture and our team provide the support and infrastructure needed for learning, growing, and excelling, ensuring that our students thrive on the fields, courts, courses, and water, as well as in the classroom and throughout life. King has state-of-the-art facilities on campus and works with tremendous off-campus partners to bolster the offerings available to our athletes and enhance our overall program.
Want to learn more about King Athletics? Follow us on social media! Instagram: @kingschoolct_athletics or X (Twitter): @Kingschoolct
Athletics in Action
After taking home a second straight Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) title with a thrilling 3-1 win over Sacred Heart Greenwich on Friday, November 10, King Varsity Volleyball earned an unprecedented eighth straight New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) title defeating The Rivers School (Weston, MA) 3-0 on Sunday, November 19, in the NEPSAC Class B Championship at Milton Academy in Milton, MA! The path to the FAA finals included victories over Greens Farms Academy and Greenwich Academy, while wins over Groton School (Groton, MA) and Greenwich Country Day School propelled the team to the New England finals.
King Girls Volleyball defeated Sacred Heart Greenwich in a four-set thriller to take home their second consecutive FAA Championship. King Varsity Field Hockey played in its first NEPSAC tournament game since 2016. King Football finished the fall season with a win. As fall wrapped up, the winter season kicked off, with Varsity Boys Basketball, Varsity Girls Basketball, Ice Hockey, and Squash starting this week.
Several upper school winter sports began this past week, with more starting up after the Thanksgiving break.
Upper school students should reach out to coaches with any questions. Students interested in winter sports who have not yet signed up should email Mr. Decker and the head coach immediately.
Varsity Girls Volleyball looks to secure their next FAA championship on Friday, November 10, and Cross Country competes in their final race of the season on Saturday, November 11. In postseason play, Viking soccer players take the field in All-Star games this weekend. Finally, National Letters of Intent were signed this week by Sylvia Freidenrich ’24 and Jonathan Decker ’23.
Several upper school winter sports will begin next week, with more starting up after the Thanksgiving break. The previously announced winter sports lineup, includes our newest program, Pickleball, along with an opportunity for athletes interested in Girls Club Ice Hockey!
Upper school students should reach out to coaches with any questions. Students interested in winter sports who have not yet signed up should email Mr. Decker and the head coach immediately.
King’s Football secured a thrilling 33-22 victory over Hopkins School in the Metropolitan Independent Football League (MIFL) quarterfinals last weekend. The fifth-seeded Vikings will now travel to take on top-seed Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, for a Friday night lights semi-final this evening, Friday, November 3, at 7:00 p.m.
In this week's Athletics update, King Varsity Football looks to secure a win in their Metropolitan Independent Football League Playoffs first-round matchup against Hopkins School and fall teams recap their exciting Homecoming games.
The Viking spirit proved to be stronger than any rainfall. Despite uncooperative weather, Homecoming 2023 at King School was a Viking-sized celebration, complete with school spirit, alumni pride, and community fun. See videos, photos, and read more about this great community event.