Since Sherman Day Thacher introduced the first game of “recess baseball” on a dirt field in the center of campus in 1892, the School has embraced the idea that students benefit from regular, strenuous physical activity. While athletics remain just one part of Thacher’s broad educational experience, we believe it’s a vital part.

Students find that contributing to a joint effort with teammates teaches them about commitment, sportsmanship, and competition, not to mention limits and stress. Friendships made on the athletic field carry over to the rest of campus life.

The School offers varied athletic options each season, and the program has a place for everyone. Although most students play sports throughout their careers, all are required to play on at least one third, JV, or varsity team before they graduate. Ninth graders can practice and compete on designated sports days several times a week, as long as they also meet their Horse Department obligations. Thacher realizes that students have a variety of commitments, so athletes are encouraged to find a healthy balance between sports and other pursuits.

Thacher’s athletic facilities include a gymnasium with a state-of-the-art climbing wall, a fitness center featuring an impressive array of strength and cardiovascular equipment, an outdoor pool, ten tennis courts, three athletic fields, an all-weather track, a baseball field, and girls' and boys' locker rooms.

Teams practice for 1.5 hours on weekday afternoons to prepare for hearty competition with other schools in the California Interscholastic Federation. Thacher is a member of the Condor League, whose schools share a philosophy that “athletic competition is only part of a wider educational experience and that it is the quality of the competition that is important, not the final score.” The league includes seven other private schools in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties: Cate, Dunn, Happy Valley, Laguna Blanca, Midland, Ojai Valley, and Besant Hill. All are committed to “an atmosphere of spirited competition tempered by a sense of fair play and sportsmanship.” In embracing these principles, our athletes not only push themselves physically but also learn to understand the benefits of healthy competition. Students competing at the varsity level may consider playing college athletics after high school.