During the holiday season, Sacred Heart Greenwich athletic teams and faculty members celebrate Christmas through festive activities and school traditions. Additionally, faculty and students participate in a basketball game.
The varsity swim team alters their final practice before the holiday to honor the 12 days of Christmas. Varsity swim captains seniors Lilly Dallesandro, Beata Servick, and Victoria Mordaunt organize a set of drills counting down from 12 while blasting Christmas music to get everyone in the holiday spirit. Additionally, Coach Keegan Reed, Associate Athletic Director and Head Swim Coach jumps in and swims the last two drills with the team. This is a celebration that the girls look forward to each year. Sophomore Laurel Cary, member of the varsity swim team, considered the excitement of celebrating Christmas traditions during practice.
“I think this Christmas practice brings the team closer together as a whole because it’s one of our most exciting practices of the year,” Laurel said. “The captains write the set for this practice with the input of the underclassmen, making sure everyone has a say. Also during this practice, we tend to play Christmas music, which gets everyone into the holiday spirit.”
Students, teachers, and alumnae look forward to the student-faculty basketball game. The Sacred Heart community awaits this highly anticipated game between the varsity basketball team and Sacred Heart faculty members. This tradition brings joy and cultivates school spirit every year. Dr. William Mottolese, Upper School English Teacher, reflected on what this game means to Sacred Heart and the joy he feels while playing in it.
“It is my favorite Sacred Heart tradition, and to me it means Christmas at Sacred Heart Greenwich,” Dr. Mottolese said. “It is a great school spirit event, and it is all about the crowd and how they cheer and get into the game. I always love that we play first thing in the morning, and it gets the day off to a fun and exciting start. So, it is a competitive but good natured game, and to me, going from the game to the advisory party or some other festive event brings me the Christmas spirit. I love that in the past several years, alumnae come back to visit on this day, and they enjoy seeing the game too. I think many students and faculty have great memories about this game from years past.”
After the varsity basketball team’s thrilling game against the Sacred Heart faculty, they travel to Massachusetts for the annual Nickerson Basketball Tournament. This opportunity allows the team to create and further friendships because they go out to dinner together, spend quality time together off the court, and play their favorite sport. This trip also gives upperclassmen the opportunity to bond with underclassmen, which allows for better chemistry on the court throughout the season. Senior captain Eva Wilkerson described her favorite part of the tournament.
“This tournament is a really fun experience because you get to bond with the team on a different level than you typically do by just going to practice or playing in games,” Eva said. “We stay up late sometimes playing card games and just getting to know everyone. It’s something I look forward to every year because it’s not an everyday experience.”
The varsity ice hockey team gets in the Christmas spirit by dressing up for their last practice before break. This year, the players decided on their own Christmas costume for each grade. For this practice, freshman will dress up as elves, sophomores will dress up as snowmen, juniors will dress up as The Grinch, and seniors will dress up as Santa Claus. Junior Katie McQuillan reflected on why this practice is important to the team dynamic.
“There are many funny moments in the locker room as we all try to piece together the costumes and help everyone fit into their costumes under their gear,” Katie said. “I definitely enjoy this practice because we play games and, most importantly, bond together as a team.”
Similar to the hockey team, the varsity squash team celebrates Christmas by having an annual holiday-themed practice. During their morning training, varsity, junior varsity A, and junior varsity B combine to play different games such as the one-point tournament and offense-defense. Instead of each individual team holding their own practice, all of the teams practice together to bond as a sport and celebrate the holidays. The players wear Christmas pajamas and have a team breakfast after their practice. Senior captain Daphne Fallon reflected on why she enjoys this Christmas practice and how it helps them to prepare for their upcoming matches.
“It’s special to have a fun practice before Christmas because it leaves everyone excited to come back in the new year feeling refreshed and ready to improve,” Daphne said. “This practice is beneficial to the whole program because we are able to bond closer and improve within our teams.”
Featured Image by Claire McMonagle ’27
