Wheeler Athletic Handbook

2016 RIIL DIII Boys Baseball Champions 2016 RIIL DII Boys Tennis Champions

The 2016-17

AthleticsHandbook

As part of our school-wide mission to conserve paper and energy resources, additional athletic information, schedules, game highlights and honors can be found at the Athletics section of the Wheeler School website: www.wheelerschool.org. Instructions to follow us on Facebook and Twitter on page 5.

Directions to The Wheeler Farm Athletic Facilities 640 Prospect St., Seekonk, MA 02771 — From the East Take 195W to Mass.Exit 1 (114AN). Turn right and proceed past movie complex. Go through lights and follow fork in road bearing right onto Arcade Ave.(Grist Mill restaurant at this intersection). Look for golf course on your left and continue to next light. Go straight, crossing Rt.44. At end of Arcade, turn right onto Rt.152N and go 1 mi. turning right onto Walker Street. Go approx. .7 mi. to large rock marking entrance on left.

Follow Walker St. to end where it intersects with Prospect. Turn left and follow to see Field House on your left.

From the West Take 195E to Mass exit 1 (Rt. 114AN). Turn left off exit and proceed past movie complex. Follow directions as above.

From Boston heading South on 95 Take Newport Ave - US 1A South exit. At second light turn left onto Benefit Street. Follow onto Central Ave (Benefit joins Central). At second traffic light turn right onto RT 152 South.

Go approx. 3 mi. (pass Seekonk library) then left onto Walker Street. Follow directions as above.

Transportation Policy Students are transported by school bus to practice at The Wheeler Athletic Facility in Seekonk, MA. Buses leave at the conclusion of the school day. Practices end by 5:30 p.m. Buses leave at the conclusion of practice and return to School. Parents are free to pick up their students at the conclusion of practice or games at the Farm if they so desire.

In the interest of safety, parents should discuss family pickup procedure for away games ahead of time and should inform the Athletic Department of any alternate carpool arrangements.

Anyone — athlete or spectator — driving to the Farm is asked to obey the neighborhood speed limits and parking regulations.

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Practice Policy for all levels Students who wish to play on an Upper School fall varsity team must attend all scheduled practices prior to the opening of school. Coaches notify teams of specific starting date and times of practices. Mandatory practice times for winter and spring sports are announced by the individual coaches and the Athletic Department at the end of the preceding semesters.

Attending practice is vital to the success of the team and teaches the value of discipline, time management and commitment to others. Absences because of illness or for religious reasons are understood, but athletes should notify coaches prior to all absences. Games and practices are scheduled by the Athletic Department and are held five times a week after school. Athletes and their families should note that a commitment to an athletic team sometimes requires weekend obligations.

Upper School Team Participation Policy Varsity Level The Varsity is comprised of the more highly-skilled athletes who represent the school at its highest competitive level. A commitment to the team is expected for players at this level.

Such commitment is shown by attendance at practice five days a week. Occasionally, there are games and practices on the weekend. While the ultimate goal of varsity athletics is to play hard and win, these athletes are taught the values of sportsmanship, teamwork, and respect for their opponents and officials. It is the coaches’ prerogative to play those they feel can most help the team. Playing time is not necessarily equal among players. Some athletes will get significantly more playing time than others depending upon game situations. It is not guaranteed that every player will participate in each athletic contest.

Junior Varsity Level Junior Varsity teams also take competition seriously, play hard to win, and learn the value of athletics. To insure a strong athletic program, this level must concentrate on developing and grooming athletes for the varsity. As with the Varsity, it is not guaranteed that every player will participate in each athletic contest. However, playing time is fair, although depending on numbers on the team, not necessarily equal among all players.

Absences because of illness or for religious reasons are excused, but athletes are expected to attend all scheduled practices.

Regardless of the level, the coach will take into consideration attendance, skill level, and attitude when submitting a lineup and substituting.

Middle School next page — 2

Middle School Team Participation Policy As a result of a collaborative effort between the Athletics Department and the Middle School, Wheeler has created a program to best suit the developmental needs of our student-athletes with 6th grade development plus 7th and 8th grade A and B team offerings.

The most important element, one that closely follows the philosophy of education in the Middle School division, is the creation of development teams, where numbers allow, for all 6th graders. These 6th grade development teams will allow the department and all coaches to identify and develop young athletes, nurture their passion for Wheeler sports, and create a strong solidarity among student-athletes in the same grade. All these things said, we are not unaware of the challenges of having athletes with different skill levels on one team. We are also aware of the need to have excellent coaching at this level, coaches who are skilled at meeting the different needs and unique learning styles of young athletes, much like our homeroom teachers meet the many needs and learning styles of their students during the school day.

While 6th graders will be playing on development teams where numbers allow, 7th and 8th graders will play at either the B or A levels depending on their skill, enthusiasm, and desire to learn.

These teams will strive to be competitive with other schools’ programs and develop the athletes’ overall abilities and attitude.

Playing time at these levels will vary. Athletes on development teams will experience playing time close to equal. B team athletes should expect playing time in all contests. On A teams, more highly-skilled athletes will have more playing time. Of course playing time at any level depends on attendance at practice and an overall positive attitude during the season.

An important note concerns Middle Schoolers playing Upper School sports. For many reasons, from the time commitment of Upper School athletics (and the impact on academics) to the concerns over mixing older students with Middle Schoolers, the Athletics Department and Middle School have decided to not allow Middle Schoolers to play up, so to speak. We want to build team and divisional solidarity and make the Middle School program as strong as it can be. As is the case when philosophy meets reality, there will be exceptions to this rule, the clearest of which is when a student is repeating 8th grade and possesses the skill and size to compete productively for a high school team.

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Wheeler Athlete Driving Policy 1. Driving to and from athletic practices and home games is permitted when a contract has been submitted and approved by the Dean of Students and the Director of Athletics. Contracts are accepted for juniors and seniors in good standing, provided that they (a) take no passengers (with the exception of siblings) to the Farm at any time, (b) drive no passengers (except siblings) back to Wheeler after athletics, and (c) drive with caution and in a safe manner and obey all applicable motor vehicle laws at all times.

2. Athletes not returning to Wheeler after practice or a home game may drive other athletes home.

3. No athlete may drive to an away game. When games are scheduled for evenings or Saturdays, the coach, with the approval of the Athletic Director and Dean of Students, may allow athletes to meet him/her at the game site.

4. At the conclusion of an away athletic contest, athletes are expected to return to Wheeler with the team. However, exceptions will be made if an athlete leaves the game site with his or her parent, or when previous arrangements have been made in writing to leave with another player’s parent.

Note: Athletes who live far from Wheeler should find alternatives to driving to school if they wish to go directly home after an away game.

Violation of the terms of the Athletic Department Driving Policy will result in the automatic loss of the driving privilege for a minimum of four weeks and possible action by the Community Standards Board.

Athletic Facilities at Wheeler

The Health & Physical Education Center on our Hope Street Campus opened in 1999 and includes a basketball court, locker rooms, trainer’s room and a fitness training center. Nearby at the 120-acre Wheeler Farm in Seekonk, are two field hockey/ lacrosse fields, cross country trail, four soccer fields, a baseball field, a softball field, eight tennis courts, and an outdoor, competition-level track and field.

The 32,500 square-foot Van Norman Athletic Field House at the Farm opened in 2001 and houses three basketball courts (convertible to indoor tennis), locker rooms, indoor batting cage and a training room.

Athletic Trainer Wheeler is fortunate to have on its Athletics Department Staff, a fulltime Athletic Trainer. The School has two facilities for athletes who need evaluation, care and training programs.

One room is located next to the Fitness/Weight Room in the Health & Physical Education Center at Wheeler while a second trainer’s room with whirlpool room is located inside the Van Norman Field House at The Wheeler Farm Athletic Complex.

If a student has an athletic injury the Athletic Trainer is available on campus to students from 10:30-2:00 and then he is available at the Wheeler Farm athletic facilities from 2:306:00PM during the school year.

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Wheeler Athletics Online Find directions to every game!

Directions to games can be found on the Wheeler website for every scheduled game. Go to the homepage, select PROGRAMS > ATHLETICS. Select a team from the dropdown menu for the season to find the game schedule. Written directions as well as a link to Google maps are provided where you see the words: DIRECTIONS AND DETAILS. Game Cancellations are posted on the ATHLETICS page as soon as a decision is made. If you sign up for Notifications (see below) you can also receive a text or email when a game cancellation is made.

Parents of athletes and athletes can also sign up via the website for NOTIFICATION phone texts or email announcements of games, schedule changes, cancellations and scores. LOGIN and next to your name in the upper top right pull down the menu and select SETTINGS. On the left of the page that loads you will see the Notifications link.

Bookmark the Wheeler website on your smartphone screen and the site is available wherever you and your mobile device travel.

Parents of athletes are able to see the team pages for their child when the parent logins. At the far left of the menu bar after logging in you will see CHILDREN. Pull down for your child’s name and click on the name. Athletic Teams are below the course listings.

Click on the Team name to see Schedule, Rosters and team page information.

Follow us on social media!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wheelerathletics Twitter: @WheelerWarriors Video: WheelerSchoolBroadcasting.org

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Physical Education & Athletics Staff Monica Aleixo (ext. 156) monicaaleixo@wheelerschool.org Physical Education/Girls MS Basketball/Girls Varsity Soccer

Stephanie Bissett (ext 255) stephaniebissett@wheelerschool.org Physical Education/MS Soccer/Girls Var. Basketball/ Girls Var. Lacrosse

Jean Carlson (ext. 241) jeancarlson@wheelerschool.org Director of Physical Education Department/ Middle School Field Hockey

Jon M. Donahue (ext. 155) jondonahue@wheelerschool.org Director of Athletics

Eric Stein (ext. 240) ericstein@wheelerschool.org Asst. Dir. of Athletics/Boys’ JV Basketball/Health Education

Nathan Withington    (ext. 239) Athletic Trainer natewithington@wheelerschool.org

Oscar Zorrilla (ext. 240) oscarzorrilla@wheelerschool.org Boys Var. Soccer/Boys JV Basketball Faculty Coaches Sam Abeshouse MS Cross Country

Kim Gustafson Cross Country

Francois Bourbeau Boys Var Ice Hockey Golf

John Hanson MS Baseball

Matt Boyd Boys JV Soccer

Kristin Heynen Swimming

JoAnn Donahue MS Softball

Sean Kelly ‘02 Boys Varsity Basketball

Jeff Griffith MS Baseball

Linda Leonard MS Girls Soccer

Richard Gilder Boys Varsity Lacrosse

Beau PoppenAbijian MS Cross Country MS Basketball

Will Rennie ‘05 MS Basketball MS Tennis Bob Schmidt MS Boys’ Basketball Page Stites Cross Country Bob Sullivan MS Baseball Tom Wharton Cross Country

Offices for the Physical Education Department and the Athletics staff are located in the Health & Physical Education Center on the main campus of The Wheeler School. The staff can be reached through the main switchboard at 401-421-8100 or at their individual extensions.

Daily Athletic announcements are at Extension 855.