A Look at Athletics at Anacapa School

At Anacapa School, students and faculty alike are pushed to establish and maintain healthy, active lifestyles. From Breakfast Club speakers to club offerings to elective classes, Anacapa makes sure that every student finds an activity that fits their personal interests while encouraging us all to be physically fit. During this first semester, students have a variety of opportunities to get muscles working and hearts pumping, including elective classes such as Basketball, Soccer, Rock Climbing and SB Trails, as well as Dance Club and a weekly Lower School fitness workout.

Basketball
Basketball class has been a really great mixture of competitiveness and fun, encouraged through the leadership of coach and Anacapa alumnus, Dillon Yuhasz. The class involves a hefty dose of fitness and conditioning, skill drills such as 3-point competitions, and, of course, scrimmaging. This class boasts a combination of very experienced players homing in on advanced skills and newer recruits who benefit from the examples of the veteran players.

Soccer
Like Basketball, Soccer class includes a combination of conditioning, skill development, and scrimmages. Students are encouraged to lead all aspects of practice, from stretching and warm-up drills to organizing the daily scrimmage. The class this year has mostly new players who have already made huge strides in soccer knowledge and skills. Their enthusiasm for the sport keeps practices energetic and fun, ensuring that coaches Hugo Macario and Megan Nesland are always on their game.

Rock Climbing
Rock Climbing also includes components of basic fitness in combination with the development of climbing-specific skills. Students spend time each week at Santa Barbara Rock Gym, working with two experienced instructors—Chris from Santa Barbara Rock Gym and Anacapa teacher (and climber!) Megan Nesland. From core workouts to technique sessions to lessons on the types of rock holds, students develop the skills, strength, and motivation to climb safely, strongly, and often! bnThey even have the opportunity to compete against other middle and high school climbers during climbing competitions, such as a recent Halloween Bouldering Competition and an upcoming competition in December.

SB Trails
SB Trails is an elective opportunity that gets students out on local trails, bluffs, paths, streets, and beaches, exploring the best of Santa Barbara’s many outdoor assets. Each class so far has explored a different location, a record that Anacapa teacher and hike leader Bryan Anderson hopes to maintain. From Ellwood to Romero Canyon and everything in between, Bryan and his students enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, get some exercise, and engage in healthy discussions and conversations on the trail. There is no better way, Bryan says, to communicate and get to know each other than while hiking our local trails!

Dance Club
Aside from elective courses, Anacapa students can choose to participate in Dance during our weekly club period. Led by local theater guru Sami Eve (another member of the Anacapa alumni community), students stretch and strengthen their muscles in a warm-up routine before learning choreography for a variety of dance styles from jazz to theatre dance to lyrical to hip hop. Students also learn dance terminology along the way, and they even have the opportunity to view videos of well-known dance performances.

Weekly Lower School Fitness Workout
Lastly, Anacapa hopes to instill the importance of active lifestyles early through the weekly Lower School Fitness workout, a new addition to Anacapa’s athletic offerings. Led by teachers Hugo Macario and Suzie Sichi, as well as community members like Bob Wilcher of Killer Bee Fitness, Lower School students get moving once a week with basic conditioning and technique instruction to ensure they are working out effectively and safely.

Clearly, Anacapa students have many ways to get fit and have fun! As a school, we hope that every student will find a way that works for them to get moving, get strong, and establish the habits today that will carry them on to healthy, active lifestyles for many years to come.

~ MEGAN NESLAND

Reminder
Students need to choose at least one physical activity elective class
during the school year—and many of them go above and beyond that requirement.
The faculty will conduct a preliminary interest survey in Breakfast Club before finalizing
the list of second semester afternoon elective offerings. Watch for your student’s
elective sign-up form in the mail around the middle of January. We’re sure to have
some of the Anacapa “classics” as well as some exciting new opportunities for fitness and fun!