Our Wildwood, Summer 2021, Volume 46

THROUGH THE YEARS A Celebration of Athletics

20 Years of Wolf Pride

by Billy DuMone, Athletics Director, and Amy Ardell, Board of Trustees

of our middle and upper school that we obtained membership in three reputable Westside sports leagues for each of our levels (elementary, middle, and upper) and participation among our student body began to grow. At that time, about 50 percent of our students joined a team and had fun competing as a Wolf. As our program has grown and our offerings have solidified, so has our participation. Over the last decade, participation levels have stayed steady at about 70 percent of our 5-12 student body participating in at least one sport, with a large subset competing as multi-sport athletes. Now as we look at the year 2021 and beyond, our bright athletics past shines and lights up our near future. We continue to make our mark as an athletics program that lives up to its mission, being “both/and.” We are inclusive and competitive, and proud to espouse both.

Wildwood athletics offers a rich balance of competitiveness and sportsmanship. Our top-notch coaches value athlete development in terms of physical skill, strategy, and the development of life skills that support students’ leadership abilities. Many athletes note how their teams are their “family” at school, and parents often bond while cheering the Wolves onto victory at pools, in gyms, and on fields and concourses all over Southern California. Being a part of Team Wildwood instills a sense of pride in our school—multiple championship trophies line the walls of our athletics office, several kids play at the collegiate level, and others have careers in the world of collegiate and professional sports. Starting in the early 2000s, Wildwood’s athletics program offered a small variety of sports and operated as a “freelance” program, meaning we were not yet members of any organized leagues. It wasn’t long after the founding

UPPER SCHOOL VARSITY SOCCER

MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

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