The Browning School believes that a dynamic program of student athletics significantly advances the educational development of its boys.
Athletics at Browning promote the principles of teamwork, fair play, perseverance and wellness in an effort to help boys achieve greater understanding of the qualities of good leadership and cooperation, the importance of sportsmanship, the benefits of focused practice, and the ways in which a healthy lifestyle can be realized. To this end, the School provides a variety of athletic experiences beginning in fifth grade, designed to advance these favorable habits and attitudes so that boys may realize their potential as young men and pursue healthy, productive adult lives.
“Our principal purpose is to play with excellence, that is, with appreciation of the skill, teamwork, dedication and fair play that sport requires.”
Browning coaches use athletics as a means through which these principles, lessons and values are developed. Indeed, just as our classroom teachers use engaging subject matter to enhance academic skills and dispositions, our coaches view sports as a vehicle for cultivating principles and understandings that transcend a particular athletic competition or pursuit. It is with these aims in mind that coaches design comprehensive training and practice plans, uphold high standards for sportsmanship and winning or losing with grace, and emphasize the necessity of commitment to the team and to the program itself. Such efforts from coaches demand reciprocal dedication, in that athletes must recognize their responsibility to give their all to the principles, lessons and values the athletic program encourages. It is in recognizing obligations to the game and to others that we become good teammates.
While it is surely preferable to prevail in athletic competitions – and our teams certainly prepare to win – our principal purpose is to play with excellence, that is, with appreciation of the skill, teamwork, dedication and fair play that sport requires. This same appreciation sits at the heart of school spirit. By not focusing solely on victory, our athletic program advances a holistic attitude, instilling a strong sense of community among spectators and participants alike and ultimately informing our boys’ attempts to lead full, healthy and productive adult lives. Whether achieved through interscholastic sports competitions, structured physical education classes, or extracurricular/intramural programming, The Browning School hopes that each boy may find a home and succeed at his own level of skill and aspiration.
Athletics Program
Browning teams compete in interscholastic soccer, cross country, basketball, squash, baseball, tennis, golf, and track. Interscholastic team sports are open to students in Grade 7 through 12 in good academic standing. Interscholastic competition in basketball begins at Grade 5. There are also intramural opportunities at Browning in the fall, winter, and spring. With special permission, a student may substitute an Interschool athletic class for one 50-minute P.E. class.
In anticipation of the fall and spring seasons, coaches provide preseason training to support boys in the honing of their game skills. Fall preseason camp takes place in the Berkshires at the end of August, and the spring camp is over break in Florida.
The athletic department makes use of both facilities at school and those of New York City. The soccer and baseball teams practice at fields on Randall’s Island. The track team makes use of Randall’s Island and Central Park. In addition to the two gyms at school, the basketball teams take advantage of the gymnasium facilities at Basketball City and Chelsea Piers for practices and games. The tennis team practices and plays a number of its matches at the National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, in Flushing, Queens as well as The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. Golf team practices are held at the driving ranges on Randall’s Island and Chelsea Piers; matches are held at Mosholu.
Information regarding upcoming athletic events, including game times and locations, are made available via the website.