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An Athletic Vision for a New Year

by Tom Moriau, Director of Athletics
With years of success under their belts and new opportunities in the Shore Conference, Ranney’s scholar–athletes and coaches are prepared to achieve a new set of goals in 2013–2014.

 
The Athletic Department is grateful to the Ranney School community for the support it has received, especially during the past few years with our transition to enter the Shore Conference.
Ranney’s scholar–athletes, coaches and Panther fans have been honored to have participated in
and won many tournaments and championships during the past several years, including our first
Shore Conference championship win by the 2012-2013 Varsity Girls’ Tennis team. Also in our first
conference year, Madison Price ’13 and Rachel Burstiner ’13, received individual Sportsmanship Awards and the school overall received the “B Central” Sportsmanship award.
 
In support of the growing athletic program, Ranney has added new technology systems that will help to boost the school’s sports coverage and fan base. Thanks to our generous parent donors, we installed new grandstand bleachers with capacity for 415 last spring. In addition to providing space for the school community and sports team visitors to watch home games and practices, the bleachers have a press box and camera deck that include wireless microphones for hosting outdoor performances and pep rallies. The camera deck also enables the videotaping and announcing of games. In addition, a new digital scoreboard has been installed in the Gerhard Pavilion for Athletics (GPA). With the ability to host and cover championship games, successful participation in the Shore
Conference and solid community support, the Athletic Program’s future looks even brighter.
 
At Ranney, we believe that the opportunity for participation in a wide variety of student-selected activities is a vital and equal part of a student’s total educational experience. And we are thankful for the many community members who are interested in seeing our program succeed. The community has joined forces to promote a common value system that aims to develop the character in young athletes that our society so desperately seeks. For example, a solid work ethic, self-discipline, self-motivation, teamwork and dedication are just a few of the many valuable assets that can be enhanced through athletic participation. As the Director of Athletics, I strongly believe that life’s most important lessons and habits can be learned through participation in our athletic offerings, and study after study shows that athletic involvement positively affects academic success.

Athletic participation is a privilege that carries with it responsibilities to the school, to the sport and to the students themselves. These experiences contribute to the development of the well-rounded individual early on, allowing each student to maximize his or her potential for success.
 
Playing a varsity sport is a significant commitment and requires dedication during the season and during the off-season. Our junior varsity teams give athletes the opportunity to refine fundamental skills and learn the more complex tactics and strategies in preparation for future varsity play. Our middle school program offers students the opportunity to develop fundamental skills, learn basic team concepts and begin the interscholastic experience. As children become involved in the programs at Ranney School, they experience some of the most rewarding moments of their life.
 
There’s no doubt that the term “scholar–athlete” is alive and well at Ranney School. Our commitment to athletics is reflected in our diverse offerings: 27 varsity teams, numerous sub-varsity teams, 15 middle schools teams—many with multiple level teams and additional club teams, and a growing Lower School Athletic Program, which includes year-round physical education including afterschool sports and Panther Cubs.
 
Our sports teams have proven to be strong competitors at both middle and high school levels. With a coaching staff that is dedicated to challenging athletes to reach for their potential, we model four important values: to play with enthusiasm and honor, to be gracious in victory and defeat, to excel in our culture our excellence and to walk in accountability. Through cooperation, dedication, and enthusiasm, our students’ achievements surpass these expectations.
 
Not only do our scholar–athletes learn to establish and pursue goals, but they also learn to accept different roles and appreciate others for the roles they play. It takes a special young adult to maintain the balance between academics, athletics and other parts of school life. Therefore, it is important that our students take pride not only in the many teams that represent our school community, but also in their class work and continuing education.
 
Under this guiding principle, the Athletic Department has set 10 goals for the 2013–2014 school year, which are outlined below. These new goals aim to establish a standard of athletic excellence that bridges the present and the future. As we continue in our new phase of athletic competition, we will endure in our pursuit of a high-quality athletic program that is centered on commitment, dedication, hard work, preparation, responsibility and community.
 
Goals

1. Help scholar–athletes reach their academic, athletic and career goals by establishing a faculty–coach committee to review and develop policy and procedures to support scholar–athletes and by growing league participation for our Middle School athletics teams, including soccer and basketball.

2. Implement the school’s recently developed Coaching Standards, which set benchmarks for coaching competencies and provide a performance guide for individual professional growth and skill development.

3. Increase support for Middle and Upper School scholar–athletes with the goal of mastering both athletics and academics by:
  • Exploring and utilizing additional programs, such as awards and organizations, to highlight scholar–athletes.
  • Developing an “Athlete Contract” for athletes and parents.
  • Creating a Ranney School Scholar–Athlete Society known as “The Golden ‘R’ Club.”
  • Creating a “Spirit Shop” to make Ranney gear available to students on game days.

4. Advance the Lower School Athletic Program by:
  • Enhancing our physical fitness programs to focus on the development of speed, agility, strength, balance, flexibility and quickness.
  • Adding boys’ lacrosse and girls’ softball offerings.
  • Developing a Lower School “Spirit Group” that will energize the Ranney community through field days, half-time games and cheerleading.

5. Further develop a strong training program that yields a winning edge for athletes and the advancement of a year-round sports program by:
  • Developing a six-week strength-and-conditioning program during the summer recess. The main intent of this program will give athletes participating in fall sports an opportunity to ready themselves for their sport. The program will focus on total-body strength development along with conditioning, speed, agility, enhancement drills and activities. Although intended for fall season athletes, any student will be able to take advantage of the program.
  • Enhancing injury prevention and strengthening programs.

6. Advance the Ranney Sports Medicine program by:
  • Upgrading the Ranney Athletic Training (Therapy) room to be a fully functioning rehabilitation and injury prevention facility.
  • Establishing an Athletic Training Student Aid program for interested students.
  • Extending ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test) Testing to Middle School athletes.
  • Conducting, in collaboration with select local physicians, educational workshops for parents about the benefits, qualifications and expertise of a Certified Athletic Trainer.
  • Our website and brochures, as well as those of the Athletic Trainers Society of New Jersey, can serve as an additional knowledge base.
  • Maintaining an educational sports medicine webpage on the Ranney website.
  • Providing scholar–athletes with a state-of-the-art athletic training program to treat and rehabilitate a majority of time-loss injuries.

7. Enhance communication among coaches, teachers, parents and extra-curricular activity moderators to provide each scholar–athlete with the schedule necessary to guarantee success.

8. Enhance among scholar–athletes the common skills necessary to be successful on the athletic field, in the classroom and in one’s personal life, including self-confidence, focus, communication, good judgment, positive decision-making and teamwork.

9. Develop a student-run Athletic Committee and Spirit Club to provide insight into the experiences of the scholar–athlete while promoting a sense of community.

10. Evaluate and update Ranney School’s Perfect Partnerships with local athletic programs to provide scholar–athletes of all ages with opportunities to maintain fitness and strength-training regiments through a year-round program of instruction and game play.

Panther Athletics Online
Check out our new athletics blog on www.ranneyschool.org/athletics for the latest team highlights and photos, interviews with student–athletes, championship roundups and more.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.