GPS Athletics | Finishing Strong

No matter what path a GPS girl takes after high school, her participation in sports helps prepare her for the future. Being part of a team gives girls the grit, determination, and mental toughness needed to succeed. Ultimately, the GPS athletics environment inspires girls to give their very best on the field of competition, in the classroom, and in life.

A national survey by Gatorade revealed that 39 percent of high school girls dropped out of sports to “prioritize academics and other extracurricular activities.” While we understand the pressure girls experience—particularly today—learning to balance multiple demands is a critical life skill.

Rather than removing challenges, we strive to give girls the support to work through them, finding confidence and inner strength that will benefit them the rest of their lives.

GPS Alumnae credit their experience in sports with their ability to...

THINK CRITICALLY

My volleyball coach always made a point to not just tell me what to do in terms of technique, but to educate me on the why and how. I was pushed to not just be a player, but a decision-maker. I see the merits of that every day in my work.

—Laura Dickerson ’05, speech/language pathologist at Kennedy Krieger Institute; GPS two-sport athlete and member of 2005 state championship track & field team and the 2003 state runner-up volleyball team; head coach and club administrator for Strive Volleyball Club in Maryland

LEAD EFFECTIVELY

In the GPS athletics programs, I learned that leadership isn’t always about being the most prominent figure on the team. Leadership is about assuming the role that is most needed for the team’s success.

—Corporal Lillian Hammond ’05, law enforcement officer in Virginia, GPS two-sport athlete, 2003 runner-up in volleyball and member of the all-tournament team, all-state player honors for volleyball 2002-04, 2005 runner-up in softball, all state honors 2004-05, three time member of Chattanooga Times Free Press Best of Preps for volleyball and once for softball, ESPN Magazine Academic All American, selected in 2009 draft for National Pro Fast Pitch

SPEAK CONFIDENTLY

On my first day of college I sat in a lecture hall in a coed class for the first time in six years. I am a reserved person by nature and, as I was leaving that class, I noticed something; I was the only girl who participated in the discussion. Of all the skills that GPS instilled in me, the confidence to participate in an educated discussion regardless of the company is still one of my most treasured assets.

—Blaes Schmissrauter Green ’03, senior project manager at TPC Printing & Packaging, former Tennessee Tech University softball player, GPS three-sport athlete, and member of the 2000 and 2001 state champion softball teams

Sports mirror life. The lessons the girls learn on the court and by being part of a team prepare them for any career they may have. They learn persistence and discipline and, more than anything, how to bounce back after failure.

—Sue Bartlett, GPS Director of Tennis and Head Varsity Tennis Coach of 5 state championship teams, 8 state runners-up, 14 individual state champions, and 7 runners-up; nationally ranked tennis player in the UK and winner of three world team medals, former UTC tennis player and All-American member of AIAW National Championship Team, member of the Greater Chattanooga Hall of Fame, the UTC Hall of Fame, and the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame