n Celebrating at Nationals: from left, Coach W.T. Miller, Zeyad Elshorfy ’12, Elroy
Leong ’11, Jake Albert ’11, co-captains James Calello ’11 and Andy Cannon ’11, Andre Li ’11, Yuga Koda ’12 and Andrew Cadienhead ’13. Jonathan Albert ’79
and Middlebury, CT, the boys are geographically, culturally, religiously, and socioeconomically diverse. Off the court the boys’ interests and experiences vary from photography to jazz band, soccer to baseball, day student to boarder, four-year senior to postgraduate. Instead of becoming points of separation, the differences among the boys created powerful synergies that brought the team closer together. For as hard as the boys worked this winter, they laughed equally as hard, so hard in fact that their abs would ache. Road trips to away matches became anticipated expeditions, offering the team the chance to share jokes, to head-bob to music and to retell nostalgic stories of past teammates. “I think it’s really special that a group of guys, diverse in so many ways, could come together as a true team and push themselves mentally and physically,” says senior Jake Albert. The team sought to share
culture and to forge friendships that will last long after the season’s end and the seniors graduate. Top-seeded Elshorfy, in particular, “spread the gospel of humility, and the boys took that to heart,” says Coach Miller. With Elshorfy as their model, the players became increasingly aware of how they represented themselves and the school on and off of the court. Elshorfy even invited teammates Albert, who is Jewish, and Cannon, who is Christian, to join him in his dorm for the Muslim ritual of cleansing and prayers before the team’s first match against Brunswick. The team’s grace in victory and eventually in defeat earned Taft the praise of even its competitors, including Brunswick coach Jim Stevens, who said the Taft match was one of his most memorable for the quality of the squash and the great sportsmanship of the Taft team.
tion, ing points of separa Instead of becomth g the boys created on ther. e differences am br t the team closer toge gh ou at th s ie rg ne powerful sy 38 Taft Bulletin SPRING 2011