By Mia Fatuzzo ’15, News Section Editor

Kacie Bradfish and I stared at each other in horror. Were we understanding Mr. Milmoe, the vivacious new athletic director, correctly? Was his pet fish distracting us to the point of incomprehension? No, we heard perfectly as he bellowed gleefully that, this year, there likely wouldn’t be Winter PE.
Winter PE was more than just three afternoons a week of light exercise. It was turning the resistance on our stationary bikes to zero, stopping at Starbucks for Peppermint Mochas on the way to workouts, nodding off in Shavasana, and, of course, a sports credit. Kacie and I, desperate, searched for a solution. Basketball? I recalled playing for a rec team in the third grade which proudly lost every single game. Swimming? One glance at the cold pool sent us running back to Starbucks. Volleyball? Apparently it’s a fall sport. Which left gymnastics.
A few weeks later, team captain Kaitlin Harden announced that it was time to sign up. We bounded down the stairs after assembly and eagerly wrote down our names and leotard sizes. Then we googled leotard. It wasn’t until a week later that Kaitlin kindly suggested that our selected sizes would barely fit an American Girl Doll. We reordered.
Then, a few days later, I got a surprising email: Winter PE was back on. Kacie and I were torn. Although we were now committed to and were excited for gymnastics, it was the more time-consuming and physically demanding choice. Ultimately, we decided to stick with gymnastics and I’m glad we did.
One of my favorite things about Country Day are the numerous athletic opportunities it provides. Sports at Country Day are, evidently, no-cut. Over the course of four years, I’ve tried tennis, crew, cross country, and track. While I enjoyed my time participating in Winter PE, I much prefer team sports. For me, they’re fun, goal-oriented, and provide a distraction from the rigors of schoolwork. Participants bond over victories, the rigors of Friday practices, and embarrassing uniforms. I’m not a star athlete, nor will I ever be. But I’d far prefer to perfect my somersault in the company of my friends than to stationary-bike my way to a PE credit.