Head’s Lines: Finding Joy in Challenge | News

June 17th 2026

One of the realities of school life is that once we return from Spring Break, it’s a mad dash through graduation.

As school leaders, we are, on the one hand, preparing for and delivering a busy, event-filled spring, while, on the other hand, putting plans in place for the upcoming academic year. Days are packed, and energy on campus is high, with so many student accomplishments bursting out all around us. It’s joyous, it’s celebratory. It’s all-consuming.

For me, a highlight of this busy season has been serving as assistant coach of the Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team. I played lacrosse through middle school and high school, and coached for many years before coming to Park, and when Park’s Athletics department sought to fill a hole in the coaching roster this spring, I stepped in. While I enjoy the game, what I love most is the opportunity lacrosse – as well as other team sports – presents for students to grow in character, gaining skills and confidence as they learn to compete as part of something larger than themselves. It feels great to be back on the field with athletes again.

Athletics is an arena that offers young people the opportunity to discover themselves through trying, risking, failing, and succeeding, as well as through relationships and teamwork. A coach can teach skills and structure practices, but beyond that, the best coaches help athletes see their way through to rising above their own sense of limits. At its core, athletics is less about winning or losing than it is about gaining the strength to show up as one’s best self in any situation that presents itself. Athletics is a journey. It is not a destination.

For many young people, the playing field is also the place they find their voice. A child who is quiet in the classroom may be the most outspoken player on the field – earning new recognition from their peers and, with that, confidence that carries over into other areas of their life, transforming them as students in the classroom. I have seen shy students bloom through peer partnerships, and experienced athletes wholeheartedly cheer on newcomers for their effort and progress.

I had the privilege of working with 17 boys in grades 5-8, some of whom were trying lacrosse for the first time. It was a “building” year. Our record was 1-12. The team, including the coaches, grew through mistakes, celebrated our progress, and most importantly, had a lot of fun – learning from each other.

We are always talking about “mission, vision, values, and the Park Portrait” at Park, and I deeply believe in everything Park stands for, everything Park aspires to. Often, though, my work as an administrator puts me at arm's length from the enterprise that’s alive and well on campus. Every opportunity I have to put myself right into the messy, striving, hopeful, extemporaneous mix of it all reminds me of the amazing work Park teachers and coaches do every day. The work they do succeeds both because of all the well-laid plans and because of the investment of self every member of our community brings to realizing our potential.

There is a poem by Tom Wayman that makes educators smile and students groan. Titled “Did I Miss Anything?” it offers responses –ironic, sardonic, and aspirational – to the question always asked by students who arrive late or miss school. It concludes:

[You missed] Everything.

Contained in this classroom

is a microcosm of human existence

assembled for you to query and examine and ponder

This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered

but it was one place

And you weren’t here

This poem, like the experience of coaching, reminds us not to take for granted the value of showing up, being present, working together, and appreciating our active participation in learning and growth.

By Scott Young, Head of School

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