Upper School ATHLETICS
King School Upper School Athletics offers a diverse, competitive Athletics program.
We value excellence along with strong program cultures and believe in the importance of commitment, goal setting, hard work, positive effort and attitude, and to providing our students with the chance to develop their capabilities to the fullest extent possible in an engaging and challenging atmosphere. The Upper School athletics program offers a full slate of options across all three seasons, including more than 35 varsity and junior varsity teams.
Our student-athletes embody the ideals of sportsmanship, citizenship, leadership, and cooperation and represent their teams, school, and community with class and respect. Students in the Upper School are required to participate in one sport per school year, with many playing two or three sports.
Explore the Upper School Sports Teams
An atmosphere that engages and challenges is created by our coaches, supporting our athletes and teams as they strive for excellence.
Our high school athletes are presented with opportunities to train year-round, both in and out of season; they are the first ones back on campus in August for the fall preseason and travel to Florida in March as part of our spring break training program.
To support our student-athletes, King’s College Counseling Department has a counselor dedicated to supporting the recruitment and enrollment process for our students considering college athletics. Every year, many of our graduates pursue athletics in college, going on to compete at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels, and we are proud to count four NFL players among them!
Standout Athletics Programs
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.
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.
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.