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The Highlanders, with the smallest enrollment of the schools that play soccer in the district, proudly trace their success to a trip to Europe last spring.
While the rest of the Lackawanna Soccer League, and Wyoming Valley Conference for that matter, begin official soccer practices in early- to mid-August, St. Gregory’s Academy is not even open to its students.
“We’re so small, and the boys don’t show up until Labor Day weekend, it’s an obstacle,’’ St. Gregory’s headmaster Howard Clark said. “When we played our first game, against Holy Cross, we looked terrible, and I wondered if it was going to be a long season. It didn’t look good.’’
Despite the auspicious start, the team’s leadership core truly believed the small school could achieve such a lofty goal.
French awakening
The success of the soccer team, and for that matter the senior class at the all-boys boarding school, arose from a spring trip to France.
“The boys went on a pilgrimage, with about 20,000 others (from around the world), from Paris to Chartres Cathedral, which dates back to the ninth century,” St. Gregory’s head dorm father Matthew Schultz said. “It houses the veil of the Blessed Mother.”
Highlander soccer players Alex Michel, Simon Dart, Joseph Long, Frank Pouliot, Brian Redmond and Zach Bateman were among those participating in the pilgrimage’s three-day, 75-mile walk.
Following that stop, the group went to an abbey, de Fontgombault, where they learned how monks lived.
It was during that peaceful time when the group decided to dedicate more than just a sports season to the Blessed Virgin.
“It was a real bonding experience,” Bateman said. “We spent a lot of time at the abbey, where we concentrated on our goal, which was to try to prepare for our senior year.”
On the soccer field, the seniors were out to atone for
a 2006 team that some players believed had underachieved.
Second-year head coach Garret van Beek had decided to make junior Andrew McNeely his captain, and a large group of seniors could have been insulted by the slight.
However, Bateman reflected on his trip to France, and came up with the solution.
“It was our senior year, and we weren’t going to take anything for granted,” Bateman said. “Among the ideas we brought forth was that we weren’t going to complain, and that we had to make ourselves set a good example for the others.
“The coaches know what’s best for us, and that, as seniors, we had to set a good example.”
Van Beek correctly assessed how his team would react.
“Zach’s a talented player, but he didn’t have the title of captain,” van Beek said. “It was one of those things that can be heart-breaking, but he said, ‘My job is to follow without question. If I do what’s asked, they (the rest of the team) will follow’,”
Bateman shined without the mantle of leadership, playing so well that the senior was named the Lackawanna Soccer League Division 2 Player of the Year and garnered a berth on the state coaches association’s all-state team.
Instead of having a distraction, the Highlanders wound up with their first District 2 title, with McNeely scoring in the 1-0 victory over Wyoming Seminary in the Class A final.
With that title brings added attention to the school which has just one sport in the Lackawanna League.
Off the beaten path
What makes St. Gregory’s unique is that the 15-year-old school draws students from across the country in search of a liberal arts education. An easy-to-miss three-story brick building sits off Griffin Road, not far from where Route 590 juts out from Route 435. The L-shaped building itself is obstructed from view, some 100 yards off Griffin Road, hidden by a house and trees.
The landscape makes for a fine jigsaw puzzle, particularly when trees on the 190-acre spread are covered with the bright reds, yellows and oranges leaves of fall. Van Beek created a “property run” of 2˝ miles, giving the school a self-contained cross country course.
An old brick water tower stands sentry over the back of the property, much like a lighthouse watches over the ocean, overlooking the property’s rolling hills.
A sculpture of the head of the poet Homer, and seemingly there forever, with its variety of shades of green is actually a recent addition to the campus, by St. Gregory’s graduate, and now, artist-in-residence, Andrew Smith.
It does not sound special enough to draw students from across the country, yet boys from Alaska, New Mexico, California and Canada mix in with those from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.
It does add up to a unique school.
“It’s a special place, with a jovial atmosphere,” van Beek said.
Melting pot
St. Gregory’s Academy seems to be a hybrid of college and high school.
The going away part, with students from across the country, and the cost ($11,000 for tuition, room and board) gives the school a university feel.
The ages of the students, and their willingness to try anything gives St. Gregory’s its high school feel.
“The parents want their kids to have a liberal-arts education, and they don’t like their local parochial schools,” Clark said. “We really don’t advertise, we get our kids by word of mouth, through brothers and cousins.”
The soccer team is no exception. Junior John Bascom, McNeely, Michel and Redmond are among those who had relatives graduate from St. Gregory’s. None regret coming to Northeastern Pennsylvania..
“It’s weird that you have all these guys who are Catholic, and are so cool,” said Long Island-born Michel. “This has been a great experience.”
Added McNeely, of Lincoln, Neb.: “It’s a different life. There are a lot more rules.”
Despite a regimented schedule and some job duties, the boys seem to enjoy being away from home.
“It turned out to be more than I expected,” said Highlanders sweeper Nathan Blain of Albuquerque, N.M. “I’m so glad I did this.”
Family also plays a big role in the school’s success.
“Most of the kids come from stable, two-parent homes,” Turner said. “There is a religious background for most of them.”
The combination of religion and its liberal arts education usually continues through college.
Clark believes upward of 90 percent of graduates attend college, with others choose the military. Among the popular colleges St. Gregory’s graduates attend include the University of Dallas, in Texas; Christendom College, in Front Royal, Va.; and St. Thomas Aquinas College, in Santa Paula, Calif.
Academics
On the school’s web site, stgregorysacademy.org, St. Gregory’s boasts that its remote setting takes away distractions for the students, allowing them to focus on the eternal things: the true, the good, and the beautiful. It also promotes its liberal arts education, and wants to play a part in building character and not just to pass on information.
Bonum, Verum, Pulchrum — the true, the good and the beautiful — appears with the school crest, a banner on the second floor of the building, and the teachers take that motto seriously.
Among the classes offered include rhetoric, religion, Latin, humanities, logic, four years of music and more. Having classes like that, it’s easy to understand why the students seem so well-spoken and worldly.
“I think it’s real important to study the greats, like Homer and Virgil,” Bateman said.
“What draws the kids is our emphasis on education with a Western tradition, poetry, studying the great writers, through Christianity,’’ Turner said. “We offer a great education with a good Catholic environment.”
Academics include three hours of classes in the morning, two more in the afternoon, and a mandatory physical education period of an hour and 45 minutes, where practice time for soccer and rugby take place during their respective seasons.
But there is also time for a juggling club, where students throw bowling-pin type objects and fire batons, or learning how to ride a variety of unicycles, all to balance the rigorous academic schedule.
Some enjoy their time at St. Gregory’s so much they come back. Among the list of 17 faculty members are seven graduates of the school.
“A lot of that happens here,” said van Beek, a St. Gregory’s alum. “The students get a lot out of this place, and they want to give back.”
Sense of community
Because St. Gregory’s is so small, the relationships built seem to be stronger, like one can find in small towns. A soccer player does not play for just himself, but for his teammates, classmates and the rest of the school.
“If I didn’t have the opportunity, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get to know these people,’’ Blain said. “I’m part of a community here, and we care about each other.”
They may care for each other more than at public schools, where every one can go their own way when they leave school.
Here, the kids don’t leave; instead they retreat to their six-to-a-room, barracks-type living quarters. With only 10 rooms, 60 is the largest number of students the school can have at one time.
Work details, like cleaning the stairways, doing dishes and cleaning the cafeteria, keep the students humble and they get a sense about hard work.
The common bond is friendship among classmates.
“I think one of the great selling points is that you get to be with your friends 24/7,” van Beek said. “You go to school with them, eat with them.
“You’re always with your friends.”
Instead of waking up and meeting friends at the bus stop or even school, students begin a highly regimented day at 7 a.m. with morning prayer in the quaint chapel that sits on the third floor of the academy. The day ends at 9:30 p.m. with night prayer, followed by lights out at 10.
“The days are full,” van Beek said. “If you want to instill discipline, you want to fill your days with as much as possible.
“You definitely don’t want to let your days of youth go by.’’
Highlander pride
The athletics program at the school very often feels hidden, simply because the Highlanders do not participate in many sports in the Lackawanna League.
Soccer is the lone sport St. Gregory’s is a league member, winning two division titles in its history.
Many of those soccer players become rugby players in the spring, but that rugged sport is not among those offered by the local league.
The soccer program never tasted victory in a District 2 Class A playoff game, until this year.
Until this magical season, when more people got to hear about St. Gregory’s, hear being the operative word.
“It’s a fun atmosphere,” Valley View coach Bob Berg said of making the trip to play its fellow LSL 2 member. “Our kids get excited going up there. We enjoy the bagpipers.’’
Currently, St. Gregory’s boasts of two bagpipers, who fit in with the unicyclists and the jugglers to create a festive, Renaissance-era atmosphere.
While cheerleaders may cheer at other schools, how many student sections sing songs and chants designed to bolster their team’s resolve?
Only at St. Gregory’s.
“When we played Meyers (in the district semifinals), there was a group of kids who wanted to try to do the same thing,” Schultz said. “I don’t think they were able to come up with a song they all knew.”
Unlike most schools, singing is a big part of the way of life at St. Gregory’s.
“It’s the spirit blossoming and growing,” Schultz said. “There’s no way to force them to sing those songs.’’
Game atmosphere
The school’s web site stgregorysacademy.org has a section about the importance of music and performing arts at the academy. Music is given its due as a way to form character and delight the soul, highlighting both folk music, with its rich story-telling songs, and Gregorian chant, an ancient expression of worship in the Catholic faith.
Soccer games involving St. Gregory’s are unlike any other in the area. The bleachers filled by the small St. Gregory’s student body back their fellow students with loud songs and chants throughout the game.
Unlike the hooligans that disrupt games around the world with derogatory or even racist taunts, these cheers are all positive and designed to help the Highlanders.
“When you’re a little down after messing up, (the crowd) gets you back into it,’’ Redmond said. “They’ve never given up on us, why should we give up on ourselves? It’s very inspiring.”
Berg appreciates what an advantage the Highlanders have.
“They make you lose your voice as a coach,” Berg said. “Trying to yell instructions to your players, maybe you can yell to midfield. It’s impossible to be heard by the guys on the far side of the field.”
More impressive than that is the fact that all of the cheering, singing and chanting is all positive. No disparaging remarks about the opposition.
“I’ve never heard a negative comment,” Berg said. “It’s always a song or a chant, and it’s all very respectful.”
In fact, the school received a letter from a soccer referee who had never done a St. Gregory’s game before he officiated one of the District 2 playoff games.
“St. Gregory’s Academy renewed my own enjoyment of officiating soccer at the high school level when I witnessed the school representatives, coaches, players, scorekeeper, ball boys, bagpipers, flag-wavers and students demonstrating a rare school spirit which was both refreshing and spiritually uplifting to me,” the referee wrote. “The skill level and sportsmanship displayed by the Highlanders was outstanding which was certainly a reflection of their coach and school.
“The camaraderie among the players was great. I heard only positive reinforcement from coaches and players: no negative sarcasm when a player missed an opportunity or misplayed a ball.”
The team did its part to keep its fans going for 80 minutes. In its 11-4 season, all three regular-season losses were by one goal, meaning the Highlanders always had a chance no matter how little time was left in the game.
The exception was the 4-0 state playoff loss to Catasauqua, which scored all of its goals in the second half.
“When we play a game, they don’t let up,” Blain said. “If you don’t play hard, you feel like you are letting down your teammates and fans.”
Athletes are supposed to be so focused on the task at hand that they aren’t supposed to hear the crowd. But just knowing the hum they hear in the background can be enough to carry them.
“I know, before the game, you hear the bag pipes during the warm-up, and you hear these resounding voices, and it makes you want to play harder for them,’’ van Beek said. “It’s funny, it seems like the other schools watch (soccer) like it’s a golf match.”
Not at St. Gregory’s, where cheering is one of the things that sets the academy apart from the other schools.
It’s part of their tradition, along with the blazers, ties and dress shirts.
It all adds up to a unique experience.
