The Park School of Buffalo Blog

Dear Park Community, 

Athletics have long been recognized as an integral part of the educational experience, offering students a wide array of benefits that extend beyond the classroom. In independent schools like Park, where the focus often lies on fostering well-rounded, intellectually curious, and socially responsible individuals, athletics serve as an essential pillar of development. Throughout its 113-year history, Park has stressed that participation in sports contributes to academic success, physical health, emotional well-being, teamwork, and the cultivation of a strong school culture has remained steadfast while nurturing a healthy competitive spirit. There is a reason that employers like to hire smart athletes; they work well with others, overcome obstacles and solve problems. These attributes are core, as we know, to Park’s mission. 

Although athletics are often seen as separate from academic pursuits, research has consistently shown a positive correlation between physical activity and academic performance. Participation in sports helps students develop cognitive skills such as time management, discipline, and concentration, which directly impact their ability to succeed in the classroom. At Park, we begin athletics as early as Grade 1, as this is a significant time for a child's development. Their hand-eye coordination is improving and they are starting to develop the capacity to reason through challenges. Park students in Grades 1 through 4 have the opportunity to play basketball in the winter and soccer in the spring; we believe that starting to engage in sports this young enables the student to strengthen perseverance skills and to reinforce the idea that effort trumps instant results. There is a certain mindset of resilience fostered through sports, and learning to cope with losses and setbacks on the field or court can translate into a greater capacity to handle academic challenges in the classroom.

Park students in Grades 1 and 2 playing spring soccer. (Spring 2024)

In a time where sedentary lifestyles and screen time are grave concerns for parents and educators, athletics provide a necessary counterbalance by promoting physical health and fitness, and the development of social skills. Students in Grades 5-8 have the opportunity to engage in a variety of interscholastic sports, which in turn improves their overall fitness levels, cardiovascular health, and muscular strength. And, we know that sports inherently teach students how to collaborate, communicate, and work as part of a team. In Grades 5-8, students have the opportunity to run cross country in the fall, play basketball in the winter, and soccer and flag football in the spring. Cross country and flag football are our newest sports offerings; Park’s cross country team is coed and has nearly tripled in size since its inception three years ago. Last year, there were only two out of fifteen schools who placed in both the boys and girls championship races, and one of those was Park. That is a significant accomplishment for a school that has considerably fewer students competing than the others (though proportional to our school size we have more participation as Park continues to have great heart and spirit). Our Boys’ flag football team made it to the championship game last year (the first year it was offered as a sport), and while we didn’t come out on top, our middle schoolers are already talking about springtime and the start of a new season and a new quest for the championship. And, new this year will be an offering for Girls Flag Football in middle school at Park - this team will be one to watch!

Park's Middle School Cross Country team. (Fall 2024)

Park’s Athletics Director, Turner Battle, says that at Park, the athletics program emphasizes life skills for different people in different ways. It allows our students to express themselves in different ways. Since beginning at Park three years ago, Mr. Battle has grown our upper school athletics department immensely. Students in Grades 9-12 can participate in tennis, cross country, soccer, golf, volleyball, bowling, basketball, track and field, baseball, and flag football. This fall, Our Varsity Girls Tennis team won the Monsignor Martin Class B regular season championship, and Park student Acacia Gardner '26 went undefeated the entire season all the way up until her round in the semi-finals. Our Varsity Boys Soccer team took the title of Monsignor Martin Division B Champions (for the second year in a row), and Park student Noah Benzinger '25, was awarded the Monsignor Martin High School Athletics Association Division B Player of the Year award, and Evan Wiese '25 was awarded the MMHSAA MVP of the championship game. These students and their accomplishments are a testament to our growing athletics program, and we are so proud of them.

Varsity Boys Soccer team just after their MMHSAA Division B Championship win at the Demske Sports Complex at Canisius University. (Fall 2024)

Athletics at Park also play a vital role in fostering school spirit and cultivating a sense of belonging within the school community. It becomes an avenue for students, faculty, and families to unite and celebrate the School's culture. Our academic division heads, along with our athletic teams and student government, plan pep rallies after each sports season that have an infectious enthusiasm for and belonging to Park. Ms. DiChristina said, “Park’s pep rallies are important for the culture of the school as a way to come together, all grades and all faculty, to not only celebrate our student athletes but also to infuse joy into that culture. To see lower school students playing games with upper schoolers or middle school students playing against faculty is something that brings joy to everyone who is in that gym and is very unique to Park.”

Athletics at Park is far more than just a form of recreation; it is an integrated cornerstone of the educational experience. Through sports, students benefit academically, physically, emotionally, and socially, practicing and strengthening critical life skills that will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. Park’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and kindness, combined with the values learned through athletics—teamwork, discipline, resilience, and leadership—are essential to shaping the leaders of the future who graduate from Park.

Senior Cecilia Gullo passes to a teammate during Park's Varsity Girls Basketball game on December 9, 2024, ultimately defeating their opponent 63-28. Photo courtesy of Mayfield Media Photography.