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Beginning in the earliest grades, Alexandria Academy’s commitment to the development of mind, body and spirit is expressed in its strong program of physical education. Throughout their The Academy School years, the benefits of fitness and healthy diet, so important in the formative years of a child’s life, remain priorities within The Academy’s coordinated academic and athletic programs.
 Early in their The Academy careers, Lower School students are exposed to the fundamental skills and strategies necessary to compete successfully in interscholastic contests. Alexandria Academy fields after-school athletic programs open to all students of the Academy.
Lower School sports include swimming, soccer, flag-football, basketball, baseball, tennis, fencing, running and agility work. There are also after school opportunities for students to enhance their strength and fitness through supervised individual stretching and exercise programs.
President’s Challenge
Every Lower School student takes part in the President’s Physical Fitness Challenge program. This program exposes the students to stretching, strength and endurance exercises. Every student is tested in September and again at the end of the year in compliance with the Challenge. In addition, every student takes part in a progressive endurance program that requires him or her to complete a mile run.
Personal Wellness Plan
In addition to programs in sport and P.E., every The Academy student is required to complete a Personal Wellness Plan (PWP) in which he or she tracks diet, sleep and exercise for a period of several weeks. By recording this information in essays and journaling, The Academy scholars have an opportunity to set wellness goals for themselves.
As students move to the Upper School, the importance of The Academy’s athletic programs become ever more vital. After all, life is about more than personal wellness or preoccupation with the self. It is a team sport involving goal setting, discipline, cooperation, sacrifice, and even a little pain...all to achieve a worthy end.
 When the Latin Lions take the field of competitive sport, it is with an eye to building character as well as physical prowess. Those who compete for the Academy are expected to be valiant in contest, modest in victory and gracious in defeat.
In the Upper School, masters, coaches, faculty advisors and the Academy Health Office continue to work with students to use their emerging understanding of math and science to customize a personal program of sleep, diet, exercise and reflection. Matters of human sexuality—not discussed in Lower School—are presented in a moral setting that acknowledges the seriousness of the issue, the dignity of the individual and the religious convictions and sensibilities of the students—and their parents.
Through their emerging awareness of social issues related to their own health and wholeness, Students are asked to develop initiatives to promote a smoke free, drug free and alcohol free environment within the Academy. Thus, what they learn in the classroom and practice in their personal lives helps to create a wholesome environment in which each individual's rights are taken seriously.
The new School's athletic clubs and teams will evolve as the student body grows and various masters bring their divergent coaching abilities to the Academy. In the 2009-2010 academic year, The Academy will seek to field teams in cross-country, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis and fencing. The Academy will also organize "life sport" opportunities such as ice-skating, golf, and hiking. As the Academy adds forms and students, it will add competitive varsity teams in Football, Wrestling, Track, Crew, Men's Lacrosse, Women's Field Hockey, Squash, Tennis and Golf.
While building a winning tradition takes time, the engagement of the entire student body in competitive team sports is, at The Academy, a high priority. Team sports build school spirit and provide each student with lessons that cannot be learned in a classroom and memories that last a lifetime. In order to graduate, every Upper School scholar is required to complete six trimesters of competitive team sports.
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