"Try Something New!"

The Surprising Rewards of "No-Cuts" Athletics

By Tutt Stapp-McKiernan

Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - December 2023, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - December 2023, p. 10

Wakefield’s mission is “to foster the character, curiosity, and clear voices the world needs.” The bold sense of adventure involved in confidently trying out a new sport, and knowing you will be supported, is an integral part of the Wakefield Way.

At Wakefield School in The Plains, learning to take risks in an environment of safety and support is a core element of becoming capable, confident, and independent—in the classroom and beyond. This belief underpins the “Try something new!” ethos of Wakefield’s Middle School athletics program, in which every student participates in a sport each season of 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. 

The numbers imply that the methodology is working: a whopping 88% of Wakefield Upper School students choose to participate in at least one sport, a key factor in the strong sense of community and camaraderie Wakefield is known for.

Wakefield’s Athletic Director Toussaint “Tee” Summers is in his 17th year at the school and his seventh as Athletic Director, and he is proud of that participation statistic, as well as an idea he believes supports it well: the concept of “no-cuts” athletic teams.

“In our Greater Piedmont Athletic Conference (GPAC), a lot of schools have a no-cuts policy. Because the schools are smaller, it’s sort of a normal thing,” he says. But he also views the policy as more than a simple matter of numbers—and is quick to express his pride in the positive effects he has observed from Wakefield’s particular implementation of its no-cuts program.

“The whole concept is centered around the idea that if anyone wants to try out a new sport, they have the opportunity to do that,” he says. “They have the opportunity to, first of all, learn the new skills of the sport—but I think the deeper benefit of trying new sports is the camaraderie and character-building, learning how to be a teammate and to work with teammates, learning how to overcome difficult challenges.” 

It may seem ironic that a team would be strengthened by the addition of athletes with no experience in the sport—but according to Coach Summers, “that’s what makes our no-cuts program so effective.” He says players who are at different levels within a sport support one another—and the result is a better team. 

“Our boys’ soccer team that went to the State championship game last year was a team of athletes who came from a wide range of different sports,” he says. “In addition to some soccer players, we had basketball players, we had lacrosse players, tennis players, all kinds of different athletes, and they made it that far because they all supported each other. Everyone understood the idea that, I might not be the greatest soccer player in the world, but I can give you hustle, I can give you vocal leadership, I can give you encouragement, and I think what made that team mesh well is that they all brought something to the table.” 

Coach Summers notes another athletically-diverse team having a good season this year: the girls’ tennis team. Finishing #2 in the GPAC this season, “They’re a collection of a whole bunch of different female athletes from different sports,” he says. “I think their encouragement of each other, trying to push each other, has been the greatest effect for them of having a team from such diverse athletic backgrounds.”