Spring Sports Highlights

Foote's sports teams had a great spring season, scoring hard-earned victories, learning from losses and growing as individuals and as teams through every practice and game. A total of 96 students in grades 6-9 participated in baseball, softball, lacrosse and tennis. Read on for team-by-team season recaps.

Softball

A new era of Foote School softball began this year. This season, 25 wonderful girls joined our team allowing us to have a varsity and JV softball team for the first time ever. Our team was made up of 11 sixth graders (Alexie, Beyla, Chandler, Ellie, Emma, Gabrielle, Helen, Lucy D., Lucy P., Nia and Sophia P.), six seventh graders (Krishna, Lucy F., Maya, Mia S., Miia B., and Sophia M) and eight eighth graders (Amelia, Erin, Jillian, Josie, Sahana, Sophie, Taylor and Zoe). Each of these girls brought to the team a high level of energy and eagerness to improve.

The varsity team’s biggest challenge this season was the weather. Of the six games they had on the schedule, three were cancelled or called off due to rain. The three games we played they won. This was an experienced group of girls who brought a special confidence and skill to the field every time they played.  

The JV team was able to get in four games this season. They finished with a record of 1 win, 2 loses and 1 tie. The win was a historic moment for Foote: the first ever win for a JV softball team at the school! These girls brought a high level of energy and enthusiasm to the team.

We are very proud of all of these girls for all of the hard work they put in this season. They always represented the school with class and supported one another every moment of every game and practice. This team was a pleasure to coach. We thank all of our departing players for their years of dedication and leadership and we look forward to the growth and development of our returning players to help Foote softball remain a strong program for many years to come.

Finally, congratulations to our 2018 team award winners. The winners of this year’s “Full Count Award” were Josie for our varsity team and Chandler and Lucy D. for our JV team.

Coach Brad and Coach Katie

Varsity Tennis

Varsity tennis enjoyed a successful season. The varsity team’s record was 5-2. We lost to the always-formidable Rumsey Hall and the high school players at Choate Rosemary Hall. We won against Hamden Hall (twice), Kingswood and Country, and ended our season with an incredible 7-0 sweep against Renbrook.

Our varsity team was talented, competitive, and—I’m proud to say—displayed a high degree of sportsmanship.

Special kudos goes to our two accomplished female players, Amy and Sophie, who remained undefeated all season. I appreciated the leadership of the four ninth grade boys: Ian, Ruari, Sam and especially Rory, who was an especially committed member of the varsity team for the past two years.

We will miss these departing ninth graders as well as eighth grade players Hugo, Manav and Sophie, and I hope they will continue to pursue tennis at their future schools. We are fortunate that we have many gifted returning seventh graders as well as strong players on junior varsity who will no doubt make varsity next spring!

Coach Anderson

JV Tennis

This season, the JV tennis team included players with a wide range of experience. We worked very hard during practice to prepare for our opening game, and it was great to see our athletes improve and grow in confidence. Unfortunately, we were narrowly beaten 4-3 by Christian Heritage, but there were some very promising performances throughout the team. Despite interruptions to our schedule due to the weather, our athletes made the most of the practice time that they had on court, and the progress that the team made in the space of a few weeks was very noticeable. After a couple of narrow defeats, it was satisfying to defeat Ezra in our penultimate game of the season, 4-1. As well as some success in the singles matches this season, the doubles pairings also performed very well. Some strong partnerships were formed as our athletes worked together, encouraged one another and played to each other's strengths. Overall, it was a good season for the JV team, and our players have gained valuable experience upon which to build and achieve more success in the future.

Coach John and Coach Andrew

Baseball

When the baseball team assembled in the gym in March, we knew we had potential to do something special. The team is filled with talented young men who worked hard to continue building their skill. We challenged them to stay hungry and never be complacent, regardless of the team's record. After losing the first game of the season, every player continued working hard. From that point we saw something different, something that drove the boys to practice harder, and play more fiercely between the chalk lines. We had many high points during our win streak but our proudest moment as coaches came in the season finale against cross town rival Hopkins. We had beaten them earlier in the season but we knew they would be tough to beat again, especially on top of the hill. It was a back-and-forth battle and in the end we lost by one run in extra innings. The boys were devastated, but we saw them come together as a team. They cared for one another, they picked each other up, and we accomplished something much more meaningful than a seven-game win streak. We became a team and a group of young men that gained qualities that will be with them forever. It was a pleasure coaching this group of players and we are beyond excited to see how they continue to develop.

Coach Eric and Coach Joe

Boys’ Lacrosse

Along the lines of professional basketball, our boys' lacrosse team had its own version of a big three. We had three outstanding year-long performances from three excellent talents. Colin M., Caleb and Charlie were beyond outstanding players all year. These players led the way for a very young team and were complemented by other quality experienced role players. This year's team of 21 was made up of two ninth graders (Caleb and Colin M.), eight eighth graders (Charlie, Colin G., Gavin, Wolf, Wylie, Zayd, Wes and Jacob), five seventh graders (Alex, Gabe, Justin, Kodi and Kwasi) and six sixth graders (Azaad, Dylan, Hank, Raiden, Shunji and Yasin).

In a majority of our games, our big 3 was stronger than the other teams'. With good leadership, excellent school spirit and a determination to get better by all, we finished with a 5-2 record. We am confident that our new players had tons of fun with their first lacrosse season, and that our experienced players will move on and be prepared for the next level. Foote lacrosse is strong!

Coach Kiernan and Coach Ty

Girls’ Lacrosse

The girls’ lacrosse team continued their growth this year, building upon both individual skills and team concepts. The team was led by 10 eighth graders, who all provided strong leadership for their teammates. These eighth graders, combined with a group of returning seventh graders, brought their experience back to the team this year. A new crop of seventh and eighth graders also left their mark on the field. The team was especially proud of its win at the Greenwich Country Day tournament over Upland Country Day School, a first ever for a lacrosse team at Foote, as well as finishing the season at 6–2. These games were marked by both excellent team play and individual efforts. The team worked collaboratively and supported each other in many ways throughout the spring, consistently having fun.

Coach Megan, Coach Tommy and Coach Ahriel