The Westminster School in Atlanta, Georgia, has been no stranger to winning state championships. This past year was no different. After accumulating 10 state championship trophies during the 2021-22 school year, Westminster has been named the ITG Next 2021-2022 Georgia Athletic Program of the Year, presented by Baker’s Sporting Goods.
Tim Downes has been the athletic director at Westminster for seven years. He also coached collegiate soccer and lacrosse as well as girls and boys lacrosse at Westminster prior to being named athletic director.
“Westminster has had a long history of athletic success, so my job has been to build on that,” said Downes.
Downes notes that over 70% of their school’s population plays at least one sport. Naturally, a number that big brings a community and student population together for one purpose.
“I think our success lies in the fact that we have very motivated students and adults who know how to motivate students toward a goal,” said Downes.
While almost all Westminster students play sports, they are also focused on academics. The level of dedication shown on sports fields is the same level of dedication the students show in their respective classrooms learning from their teachers.
“Our students are very motivated in everything they do, so it makes sense that they tend to perform at a high level academically when they are engaged in their sport,” said Downes.
According to Downes, while there is no singular sport he has seen the most growth in, girls sports overall has grown tremendously. Of the 10 state championships won at Westminster last year, five of them were in girls sports. The school also won in a variety of sports – golf, swimming & diving, soccer, tennis, cross county just to name a few.
“I love how our girls sports have set a great performance standard,” said Downes.
The Westminster School also won the Director’s Cup for Class 3A from the Georgia Athletic Director’s Association. Not only did they win in their own classification, but they actually accumulated the most points among all schools in all seven classifications. Westminster’s girls teams actually earned more points for the school than the boys teams did.
Downes noted that winning awards helps them show their students how hard work, persistence, and determination can pay off.
“The recognition is great because it allows us to tell the story of the great lessons learned by playing sports for your school,” said Downes.
Be sure to keep up with all Westminster sports for the upcoming 2022-23 season as they look to add more trophies to their case.
Written by: Kennedie Thomas
