CatlinSpeak

Catlin Gabel soccer has a rich and storied history, and has boasted one of the most successful 3A programs over the years. In 2013, a new chapter will unfold as two new coaches take over the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer teams.

The past two years marked the separate departures of two long-tenured coaches: boys’ varsity coach and former athletic director Mike Davis, and girls’ varsity coach and former Upper School math teacher Mark Lawton.

Davis left in 2011, following a 2010 state championship win for his boys. Alumnus Roger Gantz ’89 took over for the 2011 season, coming into a very young team that had just lost eleven seniors from the previous year. He had tremendous success with the boys, coaching the team to the semi-final round of the state playoffs.

An April 3 email from athletic director Sandy Luu announced that Gantz would be stepping down from his position as head coach, and would be replaced by longtime boys’ varsity assistant coach and Upper School history teacher Peter Shulman.

Shulman has coached at Catlin Gabel for ten years, and will begin his second decade in the head coaching position. He’s played soccer since age six, including four years on the varsity squad at Haverford College, and he’s been coaching since 8th grade, when he helped with a team of five- and six year-olds. In fact, Shulman has spent all but two years of his 21-year teaching career coaching soccer.

In his time at Catlin Gabel, Shulman has helped coach some, “wicked good” teams. When he arrived, the boys scored 86 goals and allowed only three his first season. They went on to beat the 4A (at the time, 4A was the largest OSAA classification) state champions, and lost only one game in his first two years with the Eagles.

While the 2013 team may not quite reach that bar, Shulman has high expectations and big goals for this seasons team. He says his primary goal is to focus on possession, but he’ll also focus on transitions, set plays, and experimenting with formations that deviate from the team’s typical 4-4-2 lineup. “I think we’ll have a few tricks up our sleeves,” he says.

Shulman, who describes his coaching style as “positive but demanding,” also plans to put emphasis on fitness, and isn’t ruling out sending the boys over to Mike Davis (who will return as the boys’ JV coach) for some conditioning.

In general, Shulman looks forward to next season. “The skill level I think is going to be pretty high,” he comments. “We’re not going to be Barcelona, but you don’t have to be very big if you’ve got skill, speed, and a good team concept. It should be fun. We’re young, but I like where I think we’re headed.”

On the girls’ side, Chris Dorough ’03 will take over from Lisa Unsworth, who took the reins from Lawton for the 2012 season after four years as assistant coach. Luu announced Dorough as Unsworth’s replacement in an email to the Catlin community on April 3rd.

Dorough was a lifer at Catlin, and played under Davis, who coached the team to three state championships––including one win––during Dorough’s time on varsity.

He makes the return to Catlin after years coaching for Tualatin Hills United Soccer Club (a club soccer team) and the Scappoose High School girls’ varsity team. He joins a program that reached the state finals every year––winning once––in the last three years of Lawton’s tenure, and fell just short of the semi-finals this year in an overtime loss to St. Mary’s of Medford.

In an email, Dorough said he wanted to coach at Catlin Gabel because it “feels like home to me. I grew up on the campus and had countless amazing teachers,” including Art Leo, Dale Rawls, and Tom Tucker. “Once I started coaching I always had the Catlin Gabel girls’ job in the back of my mind, and at this point in my coaching career I believe I’m ready.”

Now that he’s back, Dorough plans to, like Shulman, focus on possession and looking to make offensive plays in the game. He also says his main goal for the girls is to “work hard to return the program to its once [dominant] state, but enjoy and approach the game with passion.”

His own passion for the game is clear, too. Says Dorough, “I’m most looking forward to the fall and working with the team each day in practice to get better. I believe everytime you touch the ball you have a chance to get better.  I can’t wait to return [to] the school and field that shaped me and give back.”

Both teams have much to look forward to in the coming season with coaches who have such long-standing relationships with Catlin Gabel’s soccer program at the helm.

Says Shulman, “we will try to play some beautiful soccer.”

With nice weather and ambitious newcomers, the Catlin Gabel girl’s golf team is faring well. They beat the Oregon Episcopal School in a short nine-hole tournament and continue to improve with each coming day. Freshmen Lizzie Wilson, Abby Hungate, and Calissa Spooner have shown great promise in their game, and are great additions to the team. Tuesday, April 16, the team scored over thirty strokes better than their previous tournament at Langdon Farms. Eve Lowenstein, ’13, a newcomer who hopes to break 130 by the end of the season, played in her first eighteen-hole tournament Tuesday and shot an amazing 147. “I think the season’s going well,” says Layla Entrikin, a senior and team captain. “The weather has been nice so it’s good. I think we could go to state but we’d have to work really hard.” With four more tournaments until districts, there is hope for improvement and hopefully a place at state.

Layla prepares to putt at Catlin Gabel's home course, Quail Valley. (Photo: Kathleen McCarron)

The current draft proposal for the OSAA Classification and Districting meeting on April 8th may have dramatic impacts on Catlin Gabel athletics. The meeting was one of the few remaining before the committee issues a proposal to the OSAA executive board for the 2015-2019 classifications and districts.

After hearing testimony from representatives from various OSAA member schools, the committee elected to schedule an additional closed-door meeting on April 30 to conduct a more complete review of the testimony and revise the current proposal draft.

The committee recently adopted a new model of adjusting school enrollment sizes based on free and reduced price lunch numbers. According to an OSAA statement, “The OSAA Delegate Assembly passed an amendment on April 8 to use Adjusted Average Daily Membership  (ADM) figures to include an SES factor (25 percent adjustment based on free and reduced lunch figures provided by the Oregon Department of Education) for schools and the addition of home school, private school, and associate member school students who participate at their resident public or private school.”

Catlin’s collection of state championship awards. (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

The change is designed to adjust for the schools with high enrollments, but with lower-income populations. Enrollment figures used to determine classification levels will now more accurately reflect the disparity between high- and low-income student athletes.

The school year began with talks regarding possible contraction to five classifications instead of the current six. “We’re not sure [what’s going to happen], because we haven’t seen any proposals yet,” OSAA assistant executive director Peter Weber told CatlinSpeak last November. “We’re looking at five, we’re still looking at six.”

The committee recently agreed to remain at six classifications for the next four years.

The current districting model could have relatively significant implications for Catlin Gabel. While the current proposal draft still lists the Eagles as a 3A school, Catlin would find itself in the newly created “North Valley League,” which would include Blanchet Catholic, Horizon Christian, Salem Academy, and Westside Christian in addition to current league rivals OES and Valley Catholic.

“They have us in a private school league,” Catlin Gabel athletic director Sandy Luu said. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen. It’s not a viable league.”

Luu, along with Upper School head Dan Griffiths, recently testified before the Classification and Districting committee. Luu testified about the lack of initiative for the public versus private issue from the Boundary Committee. Griffiths spoke of the social implications of private school athletes only competing against athletes from other private schools.

“[We asked the committee] how’re they going to address the issues if they put us into a private school league [and] what [would] happen to the other schools,” Luu recalled. “How are they going to answer that question?”

A similar situation exists in the 6A metro league. The current proposal draft includes two options for 6A districting. The Metro League in Option B includes private schools Jesuit, Central Catholic, and St. Mary’s Academy in addition to prominent public schools like Aloha, Beaverton, Southridge, Sunset, and Westview.

Catlin Gabel should still be pleased with remaining a 3A school. Since the OSAA moved to six classifications in 2006, the Eagles have finished in the top two at the state level 28 times across nine sports, compared to just 21 times in six sports in the previous six years. Reclassification would have likely meant current 4A schools shifting down into Catlin Gabel’s classification, making athletic matchups more competitive.

“Our league, [the Lewis and Clark League] is actually proposing a letter that we all stay together,” Luu explained. “I believe that [the OSAA] is going to listen to it, and the same thing happened in 5A with the Northwest Oregon Conference … That’s kind of where we’re at, that’s what I hope is going to happen.”

The final proposal will be made to the OSAA executive board in October.

For our coverage of the 2013 spring sports season, CatlinSpeak will be following seven athletes as they travel through their seasons. Here is an introduction to the athletes we will be profiling.

Camille ’14
Tennis

How long have you played this sport?
I took tennis lessons in 4th grade but had to quit to play club soccer. I picked up tennis again last year for Catlin. I fell in love with it all over again!

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
My friends told me that tennis at Catlin was the best sport to play. It’s so much fun, it’s very social, and it’s a great stress reliever. It’s also the shortest sports season at Catlin.

What are your goals for the season?
My goals for this season are to improve the consistency of my serve and win at least 2/3 of my matches.

Any additional comments?
Even if you’ve never picked up a tennis racket in your life, come out and play next year! Coach Norm is the best coach I’ve ever had, in any sport. The team all loves having him as the head coach and I’m sure you would too!

Reed ’14
Tennis

How long have you played this sport?
I have been playing tennis for [seven] years.

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
I decided to come out for this sport to destroy the competition and improve my overall playing ability, especially in match play situations.

What are your goals for the season?
My goals for this season are to make state, beat OES, and have our team win districts and state.

Any additional comments?
[Let’ssssss] gooooooo eaglllllleeeeesssssssss

Mairéad ’13
Golf

How long have you played this sport?
I have been playing on and off for most of my life but never enjoyed it or took it seriously until [high school].

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
I was somewhat pressured into it since I had a natural talent for it and my brother was one of the top golfers in the state but I have come back every year since because I love my teammates and have grown to love the sport.

What are your goals for the season?
My personal goals for the season are to shoot under 100 at all tournaments, break 90, and make it to state individually if not with my team. The last one is challenging as only [five] individual players can qualify from each district and most of those spots are taken by the best team in state [which] happens to be in our district.

Any additional comments?
While I have set a very high bar for myself this season I am really excited to play with the [eight] new players on the team, most [of whom] have never played golf before. I also hope that I can enjoy my final season and remember that it is not always about the score.

Conor ’13
Golf

How long have you played this sport?
I have played golf for as long as I remember. When I was a toddler, my older cousins used to take me out on the golf course with them, and I have played every since.

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
I decided to come out for golf for multiple reasons. First of all, it is a lot of fun to play, and I really love all of my teammates. Secondly, I believe the team and the individuals on it have a good chance of being very successful this year.

What are your goals for the season?
This year, [myself] and the golf team have lofty goals. As a team, we were runner up last year. This year, we would like to win state! Individually, I was 4th in the state last year, and I would like to improve that to a #1 as well (which might be possible), though a more realistic goal would be to be in the top 3 in state.

Adele ’15
Track

How long have you played this sport?
I have run track since 6th grade with the exception of 7th grade where I tried lacrosse.

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
I had always planned on it!

What are your goals for the season?
Hopefully to PR in all of my events and make it to state for something!

Ian ’14
Track

How long have you played this sport?
I’ve run track for two years plus, and three in middle school (if that counts).

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
I like to run track, and have come to like the hurdles. Also the people who run track are a fun mix of people.

What are your goals for the season?
We’ll see after my first track meet.

Michael ’14
Baseball

How long have you played this sport?
I have played this sport at Catlin for three years, and for eight years before that.

Why did you decide to come out for this sport?
I decided to play this sport because it is fun to play, it is challenging both physically and mentally, and I need PE credits.

What are your goals for the season?
One of my goals for the team is to have a winning season. One of my personal goals is to bat over .325, preferably more than .333.

In her second year as athletic director, Sandy Luu is working to create more continuity between the Middle and Upper School athletic programs and strengthen Upper School sports teams in the process.

To accomplish this, Luu is deploying a number of varsity coaches to middle school teams. Currently, Brandon Haughton and David Long, the boys varsity basketball head and assistant coaches, respectively, are working with the sixth grade boys team.

According to Luu, the goal is to coach “these students at the early levels to help instill the skills we are hoping that our kids will learn as they move throughout our program.”Additionally, varsity coaches can provide a window into Upper School athletics and “create excitement about moving up to [the] US program,” asserts Luu.

Sandy Luu, athletic director, is attempting to build a competitive athletics program by creating greater continuity between the Middle and Upper School sports teams. (Photo: Catlin Gabel)

In conjunction with the varsity coaches, Luu is planning out exactly what skills middle school athletes should be learning, and when. With these “benchmarks for success,” “coaches will have a roadmap of sorts to follow when teaching the skills necessary at each level, so nothing is left to chance,” says Luu.

The goal, states Luu, is “that all the essential skills are taught before [students] reach our Upper School programs.” When they reach the Upper School, students will be ready to play, and can spend practice time learning more advanced aspects of the game.

In volleyball, for example, the intention is for sixth grade athletes to be developing the underhand serve, and for seventh grade athletes to have mastered the technique and execution. In terms of the overhand serve, the idea is for seventh graders to be developing the skill, eighth graders to be progressing with it, and JV players to have mastered it before the season begins.

Although many students matriculate into the Upper School from other middle and high schools, Luu says it is important to “[develop] the athletes we have from within our own ranks … This is how we build a competitive sports program – we can’t leave it to chance.”

The Eagles take a final huddle in the 4th quarter. (Photo: Laura Gordon)

The Middle School Boys basketball team (7-5) suffered a tough end to the season with their loss in the semi-finals against a first-seeded West Hills Christian (WHC) team 57-66. For the young Eagles team, the loss represented a sad end to a terrific season so far.

Despite a notable height disadvantage and the final score, the Eagles actually led 33-29 going into half time, and were up by 2 with five minutes remaining. “It felt good to be in a close game,” said Jasper Gordon ’17, starting shooting guard for the Eagles. “Our defensive traps were working well and we were slowing down their offense.”  However, the Eagles’ attempts to slow down WHC, combined with the aggressive WHC defensive approach, led to many Eagle fouls and turnovers. This created a wider margin of victory for WHC.

As the game drew to a close, and WHC’s score increased, the Eagles’ began to watch their championship hopes disappear. As Gordon explains, “at halftime we got a taste of victory, but to see it all crumble away, especially in the final 30 seconds, it was tough to realize that our season was over.” Even if the end result was not what the team wanted, they still accomplished a lot over the course of the 2012-13 season.

Three 8th grade co-captains led the Eagles this year: Mo Allen (point guard), Andrew Park (forward), and Coleman Sherry. The triad’s leadership did not go unnoticed by teammates. Said Gordon, “our team is much smaller than what they were used to last year, and they have adjusted to our new strengths to truly lead this team.”

All team members that I interviewed cited a recent 92-46 win over Riverdale as their best win of the season. “Almost everyone on the team scored,” Gordon explained. “The victory came without our star post Coleman…and allowed coach Deonte Huff to really utilize our bench, and give many more opportunities.”

The Eagles used lessons from this earlier win to prepare for their semifinal. Park described how in the Riverdale game, “we played intensely on both ends of the floors…if we [wanted] to win the semifinals, we [had] to play seriously from start to finish.” This mantra was clearly on display on Tuesday as the Eagles painstakingly fought in a close game until the very end.

The Eagles played hard throughout and led entering halftime. (Photo: Laura Gordon)

Entering Tuesday’s game, the Eagles also placed emphasis on improving the weakest part of their game: rebounding. “We are a very small team filled with mostly guards and small forwards,” explained Gordon.

His sentiments were echoed by Coach Huff, who added, “the turnovers are because sometimes we don’t make the simple play, but it’s gotten better over the season.” However, the progress made throughout the year seemed to disappear on Tuesday as the Eagles turned over the ball frequently, especially in the final quarter. “Some of that was because we were nervous,” Gordon explained. “But it was also because of how aggressively they played on defense.”

The Eagles was comprised of about half 8^th graders and half 7^th graders, a composition that led to a change in strategy this season. “Our tactics have switched towards a more speed based offense, which has worked surprisingly well,” said Gordon.

The large number of younger players should also add to the team’s success next season, when all five starters will graduate (Alan, Gordon, Park, Sherry, and Sahil Nerukar). Their shoes will be filled by a strong core of 7^th graders, including Isaac Baker, Fritz Frerichs, Rowan Hoffman, and Ethan Stahl.

In preparing for the championship, the Eagles maintained an important goal that stuck with them throughout the season: having fun. Said coach Huff, “we are a bit goofy and it’s a lot of fun and it’s easier to coach a team that’s a lot of fun.”

It is clear that great team spirit resulted in many wins this year. Huff added that “[the players] have a great bond with each other because they all hang out together and they are each others’ best friends so it transfers to the court and everyone is on the same page.”

Even though the fun-loving and skilled Eagles’ season ended on a bad note, it’s hard to argue that the season was without success. This team worked very hard to reach the semifinals, and will likely produce many quality players for the Upper School team. In the words of Gordon, “we’re just looking to go out there and show that we earned our place, and that we will fight for our eagle pride.”

Seniors Kassi Carter-Howard and Hannah Rotwein led the Eagles with nine and seven points respectively despite dropping a 26-56 decision to the Rainier Columbians on Senior Night at the Miller Swigert Gymnasium last Thursday.

Huddling during a timeout (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

The game remained close for the majority of the first half, with the Eagles clawing within three as late as the halfway point of the second quarter before the Columbians put the game out of reach with a score of 32-16 at halftime.

Catlin Gabel (1-19, 0-16) wrapped up a trying season under first-year coach Emily Shoemaker. After an opening victory over 2A Delphian on November 28, the Eagles suffered

19 consecutive losses to close out the season.

“It’s disappointing [for the seniors] because they’ve been playing for so long,” Shoemaker said, “but I think they ended on a good note.”

Coach Emily Shoemaker watches nervously from the sideline. (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

This was the final game for both Carter-Howard and Rotwein. Carter-Howard had been with the program for four years, spending the past two seasons on varsity. Rotwein joined the basketball squad as a junior, spending both of her basketball seasons as a member of the varsity team. The two also served as co-captains this season.

“I got to spend time with a lot of really neat girls, and a lot of girls I otherwise wouldn’t have met,” Rotwein remarked on her brief career. “I made some really cool bonds with some people I didn’t think I would.”

“It was fun,” Carter-Howard said of the season, disregarding the team’s on-court record.

The Eagles certainly improved over the course of the season. Despite being blown out 71-23 against the Warrenton Warriors in a December 11 contest, Catlin rebounded in their January 15 rematch, where the Warriors needed a last second shot to squeak out a 38-37 win.

“It’s a building year for us,” Shoemaker commented. “Next year will be good. I’m excited for it, we’ll see what happens.”

Despite Carter-Howard and Rotwein’s graduations, the prospects for the 2013-14 girls basketball team look promising. Catlin returns three starters, including upperclassman Katie Zechnich, and current underclassmen Jubilee Lopez and Hannah Courtney. Courtney contributed six points for the Eagles despite spending much of the night in foul trouble, while Lopez added two.

“It will be an interesting team,” Carter-Howard said of next year’s squad.

“I think they’re gonna bring it,” Rotwein added. “They’re a very young team. They’ll do it.”

One play seemed to epitomize the night for the Eagles. In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, sophomore Xander Balwit banked in a baseline jumper for her first points of the season. Balwit leapt into the air with joy before scurrying back on defense for one last possession.

“Her whole goal for the whole season was to get a shot and so she got it tonight,” Shoemaker remarked. “That was the whole capstone of the whole season.”

Despite 13 second-half points from star senior David Lovitz, Catlin Gabel could not hold off the hard-charging Rainier Columbians at the Miller Swigert Gymnasium during last Thursday’s varsity basketball contest.

Lovitz and fellow senior Ben Shmulevsky were both honored before the game with brief speeches. The loss was the final game of the season for the Eagles.

A senior in his final high school game. (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

Catlin looked like it was headed for its second league victory in three games entering the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead. The Columbians, though, had other ideas, scoring 19 fourth quarter points including five three-pointers, and eventually taking the lead away for good with just over 20 seconds remaining.

The loss felt painfully familiar to most of the Catlin basketball players. Until the February 1 overtime win against Corbett, Catlin had gone 0-14 in league play. The season proved a major test for both the players and coaches.

“This year I learned a lot from these kids,” head coach Brandon Haughton said. “No matter how much adversity we go through they’re gonna keep fighting.”

The lessons learned this season may serve the Eagles well next year. The Eagles return every starter except for Lovitz, including junior Chris Belluschi, who had a team high 15 points against the Columbians.

Disappointment aside, the night was primarily reserved for the celebration of the departing seniors.

“Ben and David are like pioneers to the program.” Haughton said. “Ben Shmulevsky’s one … kid that you gotta look up to.”

Shmulevsky spent three years playing JV basketball for the Eagles before landing on varsity in his final season.

“This has been the best season of basketball I’ve ever played,” Shmulevsky said in a post-game interview. “Working hard to make it to varsity, it was all worth it this off-season. I’m never gonna forget … I’m just gonna miss the ride.”

While Haughton was proud of Shmulevsky’s performance in his first career start, the night also belonged to Lovitz

“He’s given everything he had,” said Haughton. “Being one of the last four-year varsity players on the team, he’s grown so much, taking care of the basketball, not turning it over, making his shots … he came a long way.”

“He’s the man,” Shmulevsky added. “He does everything. He sets the tone for the team. He’s the example we all try to emulate on the court everyday. It’s been an honor to play with him.”

Lovitz himself viewed the journey as a much longer one. “I’ve been around this program since back when Quincy was coaching while I was in 5th grade,” Lovitz reminisced. “I will definitely miss all of the coaches, players, and fans that make playing at CG so special.”

Looking to the future, Lovitz is optimistic: “CG is definitely headed in the right direction. I’m excited to come back and watch the team next year.”

“The kids just really believe in the program and not quitting, giving everything they got,” Haughton commented. “This season’s probably one of the best seasons I’ve had as a coach.”

The prospects look good for next year’s Eagles. (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

It’s no secret that many Catlin Gabel traditions have recently landed on the chopping block; rummage and the homecoming bonfire were both widely accepted cuts, but dodgeball? After a long series of negotiations and trials, “catchball” has replaced the old middle school PE pastime in the interest of child safety.

The changes began last spring when several students complained to Middle School head Barbara Ostos that they felt they were being singled out in dodgeball games during middle school PE classes. One student even had a panic attack induced by the fear that he or she had been targeted. Ostos’s initial reaction was swift: she suspended dodgeball for the remainder of the 2011-12 school year.

“[I] pretty much said at the beginning of this year, ‘No more dodgeball,’” Ostos said in an interview, “but ultimately I think that was a mistake.”

The game’s return seemed doubtful until earlier this fall when a group of Middle School students, led by MSSA president Adolfo Apolloni, asked to speak to Ostos to try and make the case for dodgeball’s return.

Middle Schoolers now play a dodgeball variant called “catchball.” (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

“My role was very limited,” Apolloni said. “I went and I asked Barbara to reinstate [dodgeball] and I had terrible arguments so she said no.”

While Apolloni and his fellow Middle School peers may have felt that their cries went unheard, the tide had slowly begun to turn on the dodgeball question. Despite the general feeling of disappointment among the students emerging from the discussions, Ostos insisted that the conversation had a lasting effect and made her rethink the process by which the game had been evaluated. Multiple conversations followed, and a new version of dodgeball was introduced.

“I don’t want to take [it] away from the kids who really enjoy it,” longtime Middle School PE teacher Brian Gant explained. He proved to be one of the key players in reinstating the game. Apolloni also credited Gant for helping a version of dodgeball return to Middle School PE classes.

The center of the debate revolved around the question of where dodgeball belongs in a physical education curriculum. As Ostos pointed out, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education does not approve of dodgeball as an appropriate curriculum element, and the skills the game practices can be easily taught using other methods.

The discussion also took place against the backdrop of increased concerns regarding concussions in organized athletics, an issue brought into the national spotlight by head injuries in the NFL. Several students felt that they had aggravated pre-existing concussions while playing dodgeball in PE last year. While those claims are impossible to verify on a quantitative basis, the reports only added to the case for a suspension of the dodgeball program.

Lifting the ban on dodgeball required dialogue between Middle School students and teachers. (Photo: Cody Hoyt)

“Every sport has an element of risk,” Gant stressed. Ostos, Gant, and the entirety of the PE department agreed on this basic fact, so they began to work together for a way to minimize dodgeball’s inherent risk so that it could be restored to PE classes.

With the door reopened to restoring the old game, the dialogue turned to how dodgeball could be modified to address the issues that had been raised the previous spring. The newly renamed “catchball” now includes a five-minute penalty for hitting an opponent above the shoulders, and it eliminates the no-man’s-land area in the center of the floor. In addition, students are now offered an alternative activity on a day catchball is scheduled. This ensures no one is ever required to play dodgeball.

“We add things like bowling pins, or put up mats to try and make it less about brute force,” Gant emphasized. All parties agreed that the high-risk, high-velocity version of dodgeball portrayed in the famed 2004 film Dodgeball has no place in Catlin Gabel’s PE curriculum.

Gant emphasized that the name change from “dodgeball” to “catchball” was student-driven. The name reflects the newly reaffirmed objective of attempting to catch the ball to avoid being struck.

The ultimate verdict on the dodgeball question may still be up in the air. As more catchball games are played, more data is collected, and the PE department can make appropriate changes in response.

“We’re getting there,” Gant said. “It’s just a process.”

All sides appear at least satisfied with the current outcome. Ostos and Gant both view the negotiations as a triumph of the process, pointing to a substantive dialogue that involved student input and produced a reasonable compromise.
Apolloni echoed the faculty’s sentiment, saying he is “satisfied with the way it is right now.”