Bike Training

During blocks five and six, students who plan to participate in the Seventh Block bicycle trip work to get themselves into shape and prepared for the stress of living on a bike for a month. Students work out for an hour a day, five days a week. Aerobic training is achieved through the use of both the stationary bicycle and the rowing machine while wearing a heart rate monitor to gauge the level of cardiovascular effort. Students also carry out a light regime of weightlifting to increase general muscle tone. Life on the road is still a shock, but this conditioning helps to take some of the edge off the first days as bodies adapt to a more rigorous lifestyle.

Dance

Dance class is used as a preparation time for a dance performance during Arts Fest.  Auditions are fun and easy to do as long as you don't mind dancing. The final performance is a full show with lights, costumes and music. It is lots of fun to watch, but even more fun to be involved.

Fencing

In this course students are introduced to the basics of modern foil fencing. We begin by focusing on the mechanics of the game, practicing basic stance and footwork and learning to manipulate the foil in attack and defense. Students then begin applying these skills in both formal and informal bouting. Progress is slow and requires seemingly endless drilling and very little swashbuckling. To succeed, students must possess patience and perseverance.

Advanced Fencing

This is a course for students who have previously fenced at Scattergood. It has two primary aims: the first is to prepare the advanced fencers to be effective fencing instructors. The second is to give these fencers the opportunity to develop their competitive skills to a higher level. To achieve the first end, we review and polish our basic skills. We discuss and practice various teaching techniques and related drill routines. Students completing this course will have a strong grasp of basic fencing skills and be prepared to teach beginning students effectively. Students teaching students is one of the most important elements of the Scattergood fencing program. To achieve the second end, we continue to work on skills and physical conditioning. Once our grounding in basic skills is re-established we begin to explore more complicated techniques. We practice judged bouting using electric scoring gear to make ourselves increasingly comfortable with formal tournament structure and to give students a chance to sharpen their eyes by directing. To help push our skills to a higher level we practice regularly with the University of Iowa Fencing Club. Students in Advanced Fencing also have the opportunity to participate in tournaments in Chicago.

Field Hockey

Many come into the class not knowing the basics of field hockey. Since it isn't a very common sport in the Midwest, many people have misunderstandings about the game itself. Some believe field hockey is only for females or that it is an easy game for those who cannot keep up in soccer. The students quickly learn that field hockey isn't a sport for the delicate. Bruises and falls are common. During this two-block project, students move from being skeptical and lacking confidence to being enthusiastic and positive about their skills. We focus on passing, dribbling, and moving the ball down the field. We emphasize communication among players as the key point. Along with being aggressive in order to gain control of the ball, the students learn about how to keep the ball away from opponents. The culmination of their hard work and dedication is Scattergood Day when they participate in a long standing tradition, the Staff/Alumni vs. Students game.

Fitness and Tone-Up

Fitness and tone-up class begins as a building process. We collectively stretch at the beginning of the class. Each week, we try to increase our cardio time by five minutes. By the end of the first block, we build our time of continuous movement up to thirty minutes. Activities include running, jumping rope, aerobic videos, dancing, running steps, etc. After the cardio portion of the class we get back together as a group to stretch and perform several exercises in sets such as crunches, pushups, dips, wall presses, scissors, squats, etc. During the cool down we stretch to keep from getting sore muscles.

Soccer

Students in soccer PE class begin by spending time working on basic skills, including dribbling, passing, defensive position, and shooting. In the second block, students spend a lot more time engaged in scrimmages than skill practice. Though some attention is paid to some more advanced trapping and control skills, much of PE is dedicated to playing the game as often as possible, sometimes with the varsity team.

Swimming

Students in this class are transported to the Mercer Park indoor swimming pool in Iowa City for an hour of lap swimming three days a week. Students of all skill levels are welcome in Swimming, whether they wish to generally improve their fitness level or if they want to work on specific swimming skills. Our main objective is for everyone to advance in some way, whether this is through working on the basic strokes or in improving racing techniques or times.

Volleyball

Students in Volleyball work hard on improving their skills and are tested periodically on their improvement. Students learn to be able to do at least ten sets in a row, ten bumps to a target in one minute, and at least five serves in five minutes. Advanced students are asked to achieve thirty sets, thirty bumps, and ten serves. In addition to working on drills, we spend a great deal of time putting these skills into practice through practice games, both indoor and on the lawn in the circle.