After-School Sports Program

The Bearkats are The Post Oak School’s interscholastic sports teams. All students in grades 6–8 are eligible to play. The teams compete against other area independent schools in cross-country, volleyball, and basketball. We aim to schedule games against other schools that share our philosophical approach to sports and against whom we are evenly matched.

Bearkats sports seasons:

• Fall: cross-country running & volleyball;
• Winter: basketball;
• Spring: TBA

Bearkats fields separate boys' and girls' teams. During the season, practices are Tue., Wed., and Thu. from 4:00-5:00 pm. For an updated calendar of athetic events, click here.

How to join the Bearkats:

There are no tryouts for Bearkats; we encourage every student in grades 6–8 to come out for the team, and everyone who comes out plays on the team. Students must be in good standing in the classroom and must have been in attendance that day in order to play in an after-school game. It is our design to give every player equal playing time. We practice and play after school two days per week, and assume that everyone on the team wants to be at every game and practice. We encourage full and consistent participation because that is better for both the individual player and the team. On the other hand, we recognize that there are legitimate reasons for absence, so players will not be penalized for missing a game or practice.

Sixth graders may choose whether to play with Post Oak's Bearkats team or on the combined intramural squads with St. Stephen's (which include fourth and fifth graders). Some sixth graders may opt for the more informal intramurals, while others may prefer to play with Bearkats. St. Stephen’s will give their sixth graders the same option.

These are our priorities with sports:

• Improve fitness;
• Learn skills;
• Develop sportsmanship, to respect your own teammates, the other team and the referee;
• Have fun playing with friends and classmates;
• Learn to work together as a team;
• Challenge yourself against worthy competition;
• Play hard;
• Build school spirit;
• Win gracefully and lose gracefully. Winning is usually more fun, and we like to win; but the young athlete learns about life by experiencing both outcomes. In any event, winning is a lower priority than any of the preceding values.

Guidelines for parents at games:

• Be encouraging; your presence alone communicates that clearly.
• Let the coach give instructions to the players during the game. When others shout instructions to players during the game, it is confusing.
• Model good sportsmanship for your child and the community.
• Appreciate the other team and the officials; without them, there is no game.
• Read the list of priorities above. These are the values we uphold with our student-athletes; we ask you to support them.

In keeping with the best practices of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), we will meet with parents of student athletes at the beginning of each year to review athletic guidelines and expectations for both students and parents.