Making Athletics a Positive for School Culture

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

A healthy, well-balanced, and mission-aligned athletic program can greatly enhance school culture for students, staff, parents, and community members. Intentional leadership with regards to philosophy and mechanics is a key component to a successful athletic program. This session will discuss best (and not-so-best) practices when it comes to leading an athletic program to build school culture in a classical school.

Mike Roberts

Mr. Michael Roberts is the Assistant Headmaster and Athletic Director at Hillsdale Academy. He is also a lecturer in the Sports Studies Department at Hillsdale College and serves as the Head Track and Field Coach at Hillsdale Academy. He completed his B.A. coursework in History and Health and Physical Education from Hillsdale College in 1998 and then served a year as Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach and Intramural Sports Director at Hillsdale College. The following year he was the Head Coordinator and a teacher at the Sturgis High School Alternative Education Program. He then taught and coached for two years in the Cheyenne Mountain School District in Colorado Springs, before he returned to Hillsdale in 2002 for his current position. He has an M.A. in Education Leadership from the University of Colorado and a Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) endorsement through the NIAAA. During his nineteen years as Hillsdale Academy Athletic Director he has helped lead the program to great success - including over ninety percent participation from the student body and numerous conference, district, regional, and state championships. Mike has been married to his wife, Lisa, for 21 years and they have four daughters: Anna (17), Megan (16), Caroline (14), and Eliza (10).

Development of Athletics With Human Flourishing In Mind

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

To quote Francis Su from his book entitled Mathematics for Human Flourishing, he says, “Human Flourishing refers to a wholeness – of being and doing, of realizing one’s potential and helping others do the same, of acting with honor and treating others with dignity, of living with integrity even in challenging circumstances.” There is much more he says about human flourishing, but I think we can already see the connection between human flourishing and athletics when athletics are done properly, especially in a Christian classical education setting. The purpose of my talk is to show how human flourishing can be used to guide the development of a Christian classical school’s athletic program.

Michael Dicken

Michael has served as athletic director and K-12 science chair at Veritas School since June of 2011, primarily teaching chemistry and advanced chemistry, while also teaching a variety of math classes, from Algebra 1 to Calculus 3. Dr. D. has played football, basketball, baseball, and participated in track & field during his high school, college, and adult years. He is a member of the Fort Hill High School Hall of Fame, Class of 2016. He has coached football, basketball, baseball, soccer, cross country, golf, and track & field. He also serves as the Central Region independent school representative on the VIAAA (Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association), treasurer of the VISAA (Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association), a member of the VISAA Girls' Basketball Executive Committee, and chair of the VISAA Boys' & Girls' Track & Field Executive Committee, leading the state indoor and outdoor meets. After completion of his Ph. D. in organic chemistry and a postdoctoral fellowship in bioorganic chemistry, Dr. D worked for 18 years in pharmaceutical research. The highlight of his career was his development of NanoCrystal drug delivery technology. He has nineteen publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and a chapter in an organic chemistry book. He “retired” in June of 2003, fell in love with Christian classical education, and has been teaching and coaching ever since. His hobbies are attending every Veritas School event he is able, especially those associated with athletics and the performing arts, and reading everything that is true, good, and beautiful he can, regardless of the discipline. His greatest blessings, outside of his salvation, are his wife, Debbie (married since August of 1981), and their son, Scott.

Sports through a Christian Worldview Lens

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Sports can be an incredible tool for teaching, training and discipleship. However, too often Christians compartmentalize their faith and what they know to be true when it comes to sports. This session will address head-on how sports can be done when applying a Christian worldview to all personalities – players, coaches, officials, fans – as well as all aspects – practices, games, winning and losing.

Beck Brydon

Beck Brydon is the Director of Athletics for Regents School of Austin in Austin, Texas, a position he has held since 2006. Coach Brydon (or better known around campus as “Coach B”) has coached various sports at Regents since 1997 and whas been the Varsity Head Football Coach for the past 19 seasons. He served as Regents’ Director of Advancement from 2004-2006. Coach B’s vision is to redeem sports for Christ, one heart, one team and one event at a time. While seemingly a monumental task given today’s culture, it is the primary goal from which all 85 coaches of 55 athletic teams spanning 15 different sports at Regents, operate. He is currently an Executive Board Member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) and has authored more than a dozen articles in state-wide and national publications on topics such as Christian worldview in sports, sportsmanship, technology and parenting. Coach B and his wife Trish, a 7th grade teacher at Regents, have three children.

Towards an Apologetic for Athletics in Classical Christian Schools

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

If you mention teaching reading, writing, or math in classical circles you will get bombarded with books and curriculum dedicated to a classical approach to this work. It will be slick, well packaged, very biblically consistent, and completely different from what is being offered up at the local contemporary schools (public or private). If you mention athletics you get a mumbled and baptized Vince Lombardi speech and then a scramble to imitate what is happening at the local public high school. Has contemporary education really nailed it when it comes to athletics or have classical educators dropped the ball in following a pattern that does not serve them well? Athletics are a critical piece of the life of a classical school and yet we have not, as a movement, submitted it to the scrutiny that other subjects have gotten. What are the relevant questions to be asking? How do we get our athletic programs to reflect the mission of our schools? Are all sports appropriate for our schools? Are there sports that are not a good fit?

Matt Hopkins

I am a co-founder and current head of Augustine Classical Academy in Mechanicville, NY.

Coaches as a Key Component to a Successful and Mission-Aligned Athletic Program

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Mike Roberts

Mr. Michael Roberts is the Assistant Headmaster and Athletic Director at Hillsdale Academy. He is also a lecturer in the Sports Studies Department at Hillsdale College and serves as the Head Track and Field Coach at Hillsdale Academy. He completed his B.A. coursework in History and Health and Physical Education from Hillsdale College in 1998 and then served ayear as Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach and Intramural Sports Director at Hillsdale College. The following year he was the Head Coordinator and a teacher at the Sturgis High School Alternative Education Program. He then taught and coached for two years in the Cheyenne Mountain School District in Colorado Springs, before he returned to Hillsdale in 2002 for his current position. He has an M.A. in Education Leadership from the University of Colorado and a Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) endorsement through the NIAAA. During his nineteen years as Hillsdale Academy Athletic Director he has helped lead the program to great success - including over ninety percent participation from the student body and numerous conference, district, regional, and state championships. Mike has been married to his wife, Lisa, for 21 years and they have four daughters: Anna (17), Megan (16), Caroline (14), and Eliza (10).

Beck Brydon

Beck Brydon is the Director of Athletics for Regents School of Austin in Austin, Texas, a position he has held since 2006. Coach Brydon (or better known around campus as “Coach B”) has coached various sports at Regents since 1997 and whas been the Varsity Head Football Coach for the past 19 seasons. He served as Regents’ Director of Advancement from 2004-2006. Coach B’s vision is to redeem sports for Christ, one heart, one team and one event at a time. While seemingly a monumental task given today’s culture, it is the primary goal from which all 85 coaches of 55 athletic teams spanning 15 different sports at Regents, operate. He is currently an Executive Board Member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) and has authored more than a dozen articles in state-wide and national publications on topics such as Christian worldview in sports, sportsmanship, technology and parenting. Coach B and his wife Trish, a 7th grade teacher at Regents, have three children.

How to Build a Successful Athletic Program

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

The athletic program is a key component of a healthy classical school. Every classical school can have a robust athletic program regardless of its size. With an average enrollment of 15-20 students per grade, Hillsdale Academy has built a thriving athletic program over the past twenty years. This panel will explore best practices and cover how to build, sustain, and take your athletic program to the next level.

Mike Roberts

Mr. Michael Roberts is the Assistant Headmaster and Athletic Director at Hillsdale Academy. He is also a lecturer in the Sports Studies Department at Hillsdale College and serves as the Head Track and Field Coach at Hillsdale Academy. He earned his B.A. in History and Health and Physical Education from Hillsdale College in 1998 and M.A. in Education Leadership from the University of Colorado in 2002. He also earned his Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) endorsement through the NIAAA. He taught history and geography at Cheyenne Mountain Junior High School in Colorado for two years before returning to Hillsdale in the fall of 2002 for his current position. In 1999-2000 he served as the Coordinator of the Alternative Education program at Sturgis High School in Michigan. In 1998-1999 he was an Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach and Intramural Sports Director at Hillsdale College.

Greeks, Geeks, and Cleats – Advancing the Classical Model

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

A vibrant athletic program s co-curricular and essential to the advancement of a classical model school, and provides discipleship opportunities that the classroom cannot. Come hear how Regents School of Austin’s “Theology of Sport” is instrumental to the execution of a healthy, right-prioritized athletic department that strengthens the school’s community.

Beck Brydon

Beck Brydon has been the Director of Athletics at Regents since 2006 and was the school's Director of Institutional Advancement from 2004-2006. He has coached at Regents for 15 years. As Varsity Head Football Coach from 2000 to present, he has led Regents to 5 state football titles and played for two others during that time.

Developing an Athletic Program in an Emerging School

Posted on by Society for Classical Learning

Young, emerging schools have the daunting task of expanding curricular (both co and extra) offerings as the schools grow. In athletics, there are an infinite number of things to consider – what sports to play, how to get good coaches, what do you pay choaches, where do you play, who do you play against, how do you fund the sport, how do you define healthy parental involvement, how do coaches and teachers work together, how to ensure mission-fulfillment, and many more. This session will provide ideas and solutions to these issues and others. This session will be most effective with heavy audience interaction so bring your questions.

Beck Brydon

Beck Brydon has been the Director of Athletics at Regents since 2006 and was the school's Director of Institutional Advancement from 2004-2006. He has coached at Regents for 15 years. As Varsity Head Football Coach from 2000 to present, he has led Regents to 5 state football titles and played for two others during that time.