Recently, Irvington’s athletic directors announced the launch of a new elective course at Irvington for the 2025-2026 school year: Team Sports. This new elective class is designed to specifically support student-athletes in balancing both academics and sports.
Starting next school year, this class will be available to Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors and will provide them an opportunity to earn PE credit while participating in at least two team sports. Students must spend a minimum of 70 hours on athletics per season, as logged and verified by coaches of the respective courses. Both Varsity and Junior Varsity athletes are eligible to enroll in this elective.
The decision to implement this class comes after a meeting with student-athletes and school staff. “We met with a group of students, sophomore through seniors, who have been involved in multiple sports at Irvington,” explained Ms. Gribben, one of Irvington’s athletic directors involved in the process. “The administrators and counselors were there as well to discuss possible strengths and weaknesses, what period the elective would take place in, and other logistics of the class.” The goal is to have at least 40 students enrolled for the next school year.
6th period becomes the logical choice for the class as many athletes tend to leave classes early during that period. This way, academic impact is minimized as students no longer will miss important lessons. However, not all students benefit from the class’ positioning in the schedule—cross-country and track athletes have to miss fifth period classes as they meet on Wednesdays.
Reily Akana (12), who is involved in multiple sports and was invited to attend this meeting, provided his insight. “I think the class will be filled. It’ll give students a chance to focus on sports they’re passionate about and work on their academics instead of spending that time in P.E.,” he explained. “I like the idea of the 70-hour requirement, where students need to have this verified by their coach. It puts the responsibility on the students to be committed—if they fail to meet it, they lose the privilege of being in the class, [which makes it feel earned].”
So far, the implementation of this new elective has been well-received by students and parents. “We’ve received a lot of positive feedback so far,” Ms. Gribben noted.
