Greetings,
I am writing this letter to review our year together and give you a preview of what is to come this summer and fall. In the Activities Department, we have been working diligently behind the scenes to improve our processes and build on the success of our programs.
Year in Review
The 2023-2024 school year saw 9th-12th grade participation stay consistent at 64%. The most exciting part of this is seeing our raw number of registrations increase in each class (with the exception being 7th-8th grade, but they’re still high) with seniors at 87 registrations, juniors at 92, sophomores at 98, freshmen with 133(!), 8th grade at 107, and 7th grade at 130.
We launched co-ops with Hopkins for football and Providence for boys hockey, where students participated at the C and JV levels, respectively. Debate launched as a new activity offered by MSHSL. Girls cross country sent multiple runners to State. We launched new school branding and opened a 24/7 online school spirit wear store. Our varsity teams have been competitive in the Minnesota Classic Athletic Association and we are excited as baseball and track both are in position to win conference championships this spring. We cannot wait to celebrate all our students’ accomplishments at the 4th Annual Activities and Athletics Awards Celebration on Sunday, May 19.
Future of Middle School Athletics
We launched several travel middle school teams this past year, which contributed to the great participation numbers. We also learned a great deal about the available middle school options for competition. MYAS tournaments serve mostly large, established community travel programs that didn’t fit our school. SSYO is an established private school league that we cannot join. Therefore, we have competed against middle school teams from other charter schools, and it has been an adventure. Over the past two years I have been working externally to create a middle school league for charter schools that would provide a better structure. We will be competing in the Minnesota Charter School Athletic Association in the coming years with our 5th-8th grades, with fixed start/end dates and much more predictability. We will still need parents to be ready and willing to help coach these teams, but this will allow us to get more information out to everyone earlier.
Summer
Eagle Ridge Academy has received a grant that will cover the entire cost of participation for current 6th-11th grade students in our summer programs. Participation this year includes skill development sessions with our varsity head coaches as well as strength and conditioning sessions. The expectation for varsity athletes is that both will be attended. Students are welcome to sign up for as many skill development workouts as they want – but only one of the strength and conditioning sessions. In lieu of any fees, we encourage families to donate to the ERA Booster Club or volunteer their time to our activities next year. Sign up here.
Fall
There are several changes coming for the fall. We have hired and will announce the new Girls soccer head coach soon. Our co-op with International School of Minnesota has concluded for Boys and Girls Soccer and we are in the process of shifting practices and games to a site in Eden Prairie. We will launch a new registration site on July 1 for the fall. We have heard the user feedback on our current system and are excited to transition to an Affinety registration system, which is the same system all of the larger west metro schools use. Some changes that this system will bring are simplified user registration, live rosters for coaches, simplified delivery of aid, required participant prepayment, and a coaching communication tool. In the interim, we are asking families to fill out a Fall 2024 Intent to Play form.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for being a part of Gryphon Activities. We look forward to continuing our ongoing mission to grow to our full potential as individuals and members of a team. Everything we do reflects the pillars of Eagle Ridge Academy: Citizenship, Integrity, Perseverance, Honor and Respect. We will continue to navigate a challenging reality that involves shortages of bus drivers, coaches, and officials. Despite these challenges, the future of our programs continues to be bright because of the robust and enthusiastic young people. It is such an honor to serve this school community.
Go Gryphons!
Kris Babler, Activities Director