After 18 months, Lycée Athletics is back. This fall, 240 athletes and 20+ coaches on 15 sixth-grade, middle school, JV and Varsity teams took part, covering cross-country, soccer, volleyball and tennis. John Burpoe, Director of Athletics, shares this recap.
It was great to be back! The Lycée offered four cross-country, seven soccer, one tennis and three volleyball teams. Teams traveled throughout the boroughs representing the Lycée and competing against other independent schools in the NYCAL league. True to our mascot, Leo the Lynx, they fought hard all season, as they found their stride and pride, as the season progressed.
A successful season requires a combination of hard work, team spirit and dedication from the students, as well as caring, focused coaching. “The essential thing is to realize the developmental process that children are experiencing,” says Gonzalo Manriquez, Assistant Coach of Sixth-Grade Soccer. “The best result is not always in the student with greater sports potential, but rather in the student that we manage to make think differently.”
Varsity Cross Country Wins NYCAL Championships
In cross country, we had a strong turnout for the Middle School and Varsity teams. Each week the teams traveled to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to run their meets. The park has one of the top courses in the United States. We saw a number of outstanding performances by our runners. Congratulations goes out to our Varsity Boys and Girls Teams. They both won our league championship, making them the top teams of the entire season.
“Congratulations for this beautiful and fruitful season, and for bringing the Lycée’s values to your races” said Jean-Louis Bonnaure, who coaches Varsity Cross-Country along with veteran coach Bernard Otalora.
The Varsity teams head to the NYSAIS State Championships on Sunday, November 7.
The Middle School teams kept the pace all fall, making great gains. “The runners increased their physical fitness, mental endurance, and speed, but most importantly they developed a sense of teamwork. We are honored to see such tremendous improvement and camaraderie!” –Coach Le Bidois and Coach Neall, Middle School Cross-Country.
Soccer Excels
Our soccer program continues to excel. Our Junior Varsity Boys and Varsity Girls Team qualified for the playoffs. On the Middle School levels both the boys and the girls had excellent seasons. As the season went on, they started to play together as a team and did a great job.
“The Varsity Girls Soccer Team qualified for the playoffs. The team beat in the process the number 2 seed’s team, in a majestic manner. The girls are fearless and determined,” said Eric Cielenou, Assistant Director of Athletics and Coach. “They know how to win games that they need to win, which is the characteristic of great teams!”
“Les entraînements ensoleillés sur les terrains de Randall’s Island ont payé et les (12) filles ont fait des progrès considérables. En plus des progrès techniques et tactiques, les filles ont toujours eu un comportement exemplaire. Les entraînements comme les matchs ont toujours eu lieu dans la bonne humeur avec un très bon état d’esprit collectif.” -Aude Fourmont, Coach, Middle School Girls Soccer
“Au cours de cette année difficile parsemée d’obstacles, vous avez montré un très bel esprit d’équipe et des qualités de persévérance dont vous pouvez être fiers et qui vous permettront de relever des défis encore plus grands. Bravo à tous pour cette saison que vous avez conclue, malgré les déceptions, sur une note remarquable avec ce match contre UNIS d’un très haut niveau !” –Pascal Quéru, Coach, Varsity Boys Soccer
“Mr. Lagaude et moi-même avons pris beaucoup de plaisir à coacher cette équipe pleine de ressources et d’envie. De plus, elle a fait preuve d’esprit d’équipe et d’implication. Bravo à eux!” – Nicolas Martinez, Coach, Middle School Boys Soccer.
“Merci les filles pour cette formidable saison d’automne ! Que de progrès et de plaisir en l’espace d’un mois et demi. Un grand bravo à toutes pour votre participation, je suis très fier de vous !” – Antoine Thiboult, Coach, Sixth-Grade Girls Soccer
Tennis Lobs it Back
Let’s not forget our Varsity Girls Tennis team. Tennis is an individual sport as well as a team sport. If one player does well, then the entire team will benefit from their score. The team was led by a number of strong players who helped the team over the course of the season.
“C’était une saison d’automne épique : une rencontre à l’US Open, des victoires et des défaites mais des joueuses au top et toujours souriantes et agréables ! C’était un vrai bonheur d’entraîner cette équipe ! Les Varsity Girls Tennis, vous allez me manquer !” –Thomas Proudhon, Coach, Varsity Girls Tennis
Volleyball for the Spike
Lycée JV and Varsity Girls Volleyball Teams continued to progress over the course of the season. They showed that with hard work and dedication you can improve.
“Merci à vous les filles pour votre investissement sans faille dans notre équipe de JV Volley-ball. Vous nous avez procuré tellement d’émotions : de la joie, du stress, de la tension mais surtout de la fierté. Vous avez été vaillantes et tenaces. Vos progrès ont été considérables, bravo ! C’était un bonheur de vous avoir coaché cette saison, alors MERCI !” – Raphaëlle Millot, coach, JV Girls Volleyball
Winter Season Begins on November 1
Inspired by the fall season? If you haven’t yet done so, Lycée students are invited to sign up to play a winter sport for the Lycée, including swimming, basketball, indoor track, and squash. Visit the Athletics Page on MyLycée for a list of all sports and registration links.
About the Author :
John Burpoe has been working in education for thirty years, and joined the Lycée team in 2012. Previously, he held the same position at Friends Seminary and Xavier High School. John received a master’s degree from Fordham University School of Education. He enjoys running during his free time.