Everything in this manual grows from one idea: Lions compete with courage and strength because they belong to the King. Win or lose, we play for His glory.
Every game starts on one knee. Our pre-game prayer reminds us who we play for before we play to win.Our crowned Lion — a picture of Christ's authority and the strength, courage and fearlessness we ask of every athlete.
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Mission Statement
The mission of Kings Cross Academy Athletics is to develop Christ-centered student-athletes who compete with courage, strength and humility, growing spiritually, academically, physically and socially so that every contest becomes an act of worship and a witness to our community.
Rationale
Columbia Christian's mission is admirably short ("excellence in faith, character, and academics"), while Chestertown and Northland list the whole-person areas of growth. I combined the brevity of CCS with the spiritual/intellectual/physical/social framework found in WC and tied it to our lion identity so the mission connects directly to our mascot rationale. The mission also carries the Academy's own promise from its Our School page: every student is known, valued and encouraged to achieve their very best.
Glorify God through effort, attitude and conduct in every practice and contest.
Maintain academic eligibility and a team GPA of 3.0 or higher in every program.
Offer a no-cut opportunity at the middle school level and competitive opportunities at JV and varsity.
Develop at least one student leader per team through captain training each season.
Compete for conference championships while earning sportsmanship recognition from officials.
Rationale
Columbia Christian separates goals by school level, and Gilbert Christian stresses commitment expectations. I chose measurable goals (GPA target, captain training) so parents can see whether the program is succeeding, borrowing the leadership/captains emphasis from Wilmington Christian. The goals also echo the Academy's own aim on its Physical Education page: that every child leaves school with a love of being active.
Athletics at Kings Cross Academy is an extension of the classroom. Coaches are teachers first, disciplers second and tacticians third. We pursue winning with all our strength, but never at the expense of character, academics or faith. Like the lion, our athletes are bold but not reckless, strong but under authority.
Rationale
Worthington Christian states that the primary purpose of athletics is to glorify God, and Wilmington describes coaches as teachers who develop the whole athlete. I merged both and added the 'strong but under authority' lion image so a single, consistent philosophy runs through every later policy. It rests on the Academy's stated values — Courage, Respect, Kindness, Integrity, Endurance and Aspiration.
