Inside King's-Edgehill School

It was great to be able to celebrate our Annual KES Athletic Banquet last Thursday evening. I was very pleased to see and hear so many of our Coaches chatting on Zoom prior to the 8:00 pm start of the event. I truly appreciate the time, commitment and passion that our Coaches invest in our athletics programme. I shared with the audience, that although there is an expectation for our faculty to coach for two terms, we have had about a dozen, over the past couple of decades, who coach more than two terms of sport. This reflects the selflessness and commitment to our student-athletes. These coaches share many highs and lows with their teams and develop strong bonds with the students, while mentoring the essential life skills that we learn in sport and then apply to life.

Topics: Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES

Humans are creatures of habit. This is especially true for athletes and, particularly so, for the young men of the King’s-Edgehill Rugby Team. These habits sometimes transcend into rituals, and rituals serve important functions. They give meaning to our endeavours, they provide comfort in a world that can sometimes seem chaotic, and they serve as steppingstones on the way to desired short-term and long-term goals. Most importantly, they help construct a feeling of collective identity that forms a sense of belonging. In addition to their ingrained understanding of the importance of hard work, a sense of belonging helps our athletes buy into the considerable amount of effort required in a programme like ours and, more significantly, contributes to the lifelong friendships that are formed here.

Topics: About King's-Edgehill School, Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES, Distance Learning

Being a high school senior in the year 2020 is questionable. To us, the elimination of being physically present in class and having to do online school is no vacation. We are now missing out on valuable time we get to share with our friends, coaches, and teachers before we graduate. We - graduating students - are sitting in isolation due to COVID-19, anxiously looking at our calendars, watching every event we had planned just pass by. I personally have a severe case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Students are not only missing out on the special year end events but are also missing the daily moments that build a family bond between the staff and students.

Social distancing provides a lot of time to think. During all this thinking, we start to realise we may never be able to take the field again with some of our best friends and teammates. Milestones we’ve waited for our whole lives have been robbed from us; like events such as Cadet Ball, Prom, and our Graduation Ceremony. Some people won't understand, but these are the nights that give us closure from high school, the nights spent celebrating all those late hours of studying for the test you may or may not pass.

Topics: About King's-Edgehill School, Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES, kespride

When asked to rate something, the usual reference is from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. Well, I'd like to illustrate this in a couple of ways. I first want to introduce Grade 10 student,   Mitchell Larkin. What is special about Mitchell matters in a number of ways but only on one level: he strives to achieve 10's at all he attempts, and this season he has been accomplishing just that. In the academic arena, Mitchell is in the Grade 10 honours class and his ongoing average has been among the top of his peers (1). Okay, but what else, you may ask? Mitchell is the Captain of our Ski Team (2) and he won an Individual Gold Medal at the NSSAF Provincials last month (3), and also led his Intermediate Boys Team to stand on centre podium also (4). Those are 10's but if the scale could possibly be stretched beyond a 10, Mitchell has accomplished that too. He earned a place on the U18 National Ski Team this season (5), having amassed the second most points last season with his NS Ski Team (6) and competing at the 2019 Canada Winter Games (7)! Note that I am helping you keep track of the number of 10's thus far and already we're at 'Lucky 7".

Topics: About King's-Edgehill School, Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES

Coaches   Smith,   Hadley, and I, along with team captains   Katie Goddard and Mitchell Larkin, send out a big congratulations to all 29 ski racers this year. There was a variety of ages and experience on the team, and our student athletes hailed from Canada, Germany, China, and Mexico. It was an exciting year filled with much ski skill improvement in the 40 days of on-snow training and racing!

Topics: Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES

With our KES Distance Learning Programme gaining momentum, our free time outside has never been more important. As many are adapting to new working and learning environments, as well as increased screen time and staying closer to home, a routine that keeps our own health and wellness as the top priority is crucial.

Topics: About King's-Edgehill School, Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES

I hope everyone is doing well despite the difficulties imposed upon all of us by the present COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the KESFF ( Fitness Fix) was initiated to bring us all together in a positive way through a regular KES community-wide healthy activity.

Topics: About King's-Edgehill School, Athletics At KES, Distance Learning

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines vigor as “active bodily or mental strength or force”. Coach Walsh and I are happy say that this noun accurately describes the approach our wrestlers at King’s-Edgehill School took towards our recently concluded season. They spent hundreds of hours of preparation in a small basement room, up and down the Athletic Center stairs, and in the weight room, during which time our student-athletes stayed on top of their academic responsibilities.

Topics: About King's-Edgehill School, Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES

The Indoor Soccer League wrapped up with what was an exciting game between “Tenacious T” and the “Pilingas”. The final game finished in overtime with penalty kicks, and after a competitive battle, the Pilingas took home the prestigious Golden Boot Award! This was an excellent season for participation, with eight teams playing in games each week throughout the winter, and many spectators also coming to cheer on friends. Those who came out to play or watch on Tuesday and Thursday nights saw a high level of play, amazing saves by some talented keepers, and a good balance of intensity and sportsmanship.

Topics: Campus Life, Athletics At KES, Athletes at KES

Madi Taljaard has once again distinguished herself as a Cadet Biathlete at the National level. Madi attended the Cadet Biathlon Nationals at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier last week as a member of Team Nova Scotia. This talented young lady is just fresh off Cadet Zones where she won GOLD, and Nova Scotia Provincials where she won two GOLD medals. Madi produced some great results in Valcartier. In the 6 km Sprint race, she placed 9^th overall in Canada. The Patrol Race produced a result of 4^th position in the nation with Madi shooting clean, 10 for 10. The final race was the Mass start. In this heated 7.5 km competition, Madi placed 6^th in the nation and beat everyone else in Atlantic Canada, shooting 14 out of 20 targets. In addition to her amazing talent as a biathlete, Madi was also given the Most Heart Spirit Award in the Games. With cries of “When I say Nova, you say Scotia”, the team from Nova Scotia was named the Most Spirited group at the competition. Way to go, Madi. Well done!

Topics: Athletics At KES, Cadets, Athletes at KES