by Hayley Norman
As many of you have heard, SGA will be introducing the option for students to play sports at our school. For 2023-24, these options include: girls volleyball, co-ed bass fishing, and boys basketball. Because this is a new program, there have been many questions about what you can expect and what sports the school will be offering for the 2023-2024 school year.
Scholars Guild is a member school of GAPPS – Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools – along with many of the other private schools in the surrounding area. GAPPS oversees both sports and fine arts competitions for their member schools, and it allows student-athletes the opportunity to play for regional and state championships. Heading up the Scholars Guild sports program is our new Athletic Director, Margaret Woosnam. Mrs. Woosnam is a homeschool mom to some of our own SGA students and has a PhD in Education Administration from Clemson University. She was a multi-sport athlete in high school and college, and has also been a coach for rec, school, and club athletic teams in two states for the last 10 years. In her own words, “We are so excited about this opportunity to add sports and fine arts competitions for our students! Scholars Guild already has such a tremendous track record in discipling our students spiritually, providing them with excellent academics, and creating unique social events to build their community. Adding this piece is a natural extension of what we already do and we have been energized by the excitement the parents and students have shared with us about it! Playing sports for your school as a homeschooler is an incredibly special opportunity!”
Starting out the season will be girls volleyball for the fall season which will include Middle school, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Middle school is for grades 5th-8th, JV can have grades 8th-10th, and our Varsity team will be for high school students. The teams will be hosting a community-wide fundamentals camp, optional workouts during the summer, and the official team tryouts towards the end of summer. The official practices will start on July 31st and the season will end in October. Because volleyball is the sport with the earliest starting season, it’s also the one that has the most detailed plans. If you’re interested in trying out for volleyball or even if you aren’t sure if you want to play yet, fill out the interest form that will be linked at the bottom of the article, and you can be notified about the workout opportunities to try it out whether you’ve played before or not!
The next season starting will be co-ed bass fishing. This team is a little different; it will be only one Varsity team which will be open to grades 7th-12th. Similar to the other sports, the bass fishing team will be hosting optional fishing events this summer, with the season beginning October 2nd. The season will include one Saturday tournament per month from October to March (except during the month of December) at different lakes throughout Georgia. If you're interested in finding out more about the sport and upcoming details about the season, check out the interest form linked below.
Last but not least is the boy’s basketball program. The program will include teams for Middle school (5th-8th), Junior Varsity (8th-10th), and Varsity (high school). The team will be hosting optional workouts throughout the summer and tryouts will likely happen in September. Official practice starts October 9th with the season ending in February. If you are interested in trying out for the team or want more information about specific dates when they’re released, click on the interest form down below.
Some general information about the practices for all three sports: the school is working with First Baptist Church Loganvillve (FBCL) to be able to use the gymnasium as a practice and home gym for the SGA Athletics, but they are also working to make sure that even if they can’t use FBCL for all their needs, they find a gym close to the church/school building.
One of the most commonly asked questions so far has been if the school plans to add any additional sports to its roster that they aren’t providing for the upcoming school year. These three sports were chosen because of the highest interest levels and the availability of coaches. More sports will most likely be offered eventually and at that time there would be interest forms sent out to make sure we would have enough people to play on a given team!
To conclude, the part that most people are probably here for is the reveal of the official logo and mascot for the SGA sports programs. There have been a lot of rumors going around school about what it might be (one of the most notable being the Scholars Guild Squirrels). It’s an honor to present to you the Scholars Guild Spartans
The interest form is linked here for all the sports: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeu9ECobbsp24AUl6spavRtEPMrVSlUptVUtoSX_mojrM0PDg/viewform
The interest form is linked here for all the sports: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeu9ECobbsp24AUl6spavRtEPMrVSlUptVUtoSX_mojrM0PDg/viewform
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