Learn About Athletics at The Governor’s Academy

Athletes at The Governor's Academy play for championship titles in one of the most competitive athletic conferences in the United States, the Independent School League (ISL).

Our students play in and on many first-class facilities with some of the very best athletes in Massachusetts. They play for the chance to compete on nationally ranked college teams in NCAA Division I, II, and III levels, like so many Governor’s graduates before them. They play for the coaches who challenge them and believe in them. And they play in front of a community full of friends, parents, faculty, and staff who will always stand up and cheer for them. At Governor’s, our students play to see what is possible and just how far they can go.

Join a Team at The Governor's Academy

If you're interested in independent high school athletics, you're sure to find a place in one (or more!) of our over 50 interscholastic and recreational teams. Regardless of whether you have been playing for years or you are just getting the courage to try something new, the Governor’s community will support and encourage you as you give it your all. View our full list of teams and check out our game schedule. We hope to see you in Byfield soon!

Cardinal Rules

On game days, our fields and courts fill with fans in cardinal and white ready to celebrate. They aren’t just there for the big wins and the broken records. They are there for their classmates, and they stay all the way to the final buzzer. At Govs, we watch our athletes go far together.

Independent School League (ISL)

The ISL was founded in 1948 and its members compete in eighteen sports as part of the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC). The sixteen schools in the ISL are:

Belmont Hill
Brooks
Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Governor’s
Groton
Lawrence Academy
Middlesex
Milton Academy
Noble & Greenough
Rivers
Roxbury Latin
St. George’s
St. Mark’s
St. Sebastian’s
Tabor
Thayer

Support the Cardinal and White At Governor's

Governor's athletes play with their whole hearts even though sports are not their whole story. Athletics at Governor's is about outstanding performance - as our championship titles, NCAA scholarship players, and world competitors will attest - but it is also about character.

It’s about the student who bravely decides to join the wrestling team as a sophomore and works so hard at his new sport that he receives the coach’s award for his dedication. Or the student who patiently waited for two years as the back-up varsity hockey goaltender before finally having a chance to prove herself and become assistant captain and MVP. We teach that "strength" has many meanings. The vital courage to try something for the first time and give it your all is always as respected as the ability to win a championship.

Join Recreational Leagues and Afternoon Programs

The Governor’s Academy has won numerous ISL and New England titles in recent years. Yet everyone can get into the action with more than fifty interscholastic teams at three levels of play, as well as recreational and instructional Afternoon Programs like recreational basketball, instructional tennis, and yoga. We teach that "strength" has many meanings. The vital courage to try something for the first time and give it your all is always as respected as the ability to win a championship. 

Claudia Asano Barcomb

Director of Afternoon Programs & Athletics, Head Coach of Girls Varsity Ice Hockey

Athletics is the perfect place to learn life lessons. Students get to test their athletic abilities while learning how to be part of a team. Groups of students from all backgrounds come together to achieve their goals.  

Claudia honed her love of sports and her competitive spirit as a three-season athlete in the ISL, as the captain of a championship ice hockey team at Harvard, and as an assistant coach at Harvard and head coach at Union. Under her stewardship, the Govs Afternoon Program gets everyone to come out and play.

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