"Doing Your Best Is More Important than Being the Best"
Middle School Athletic Director Chloe Sargeant Talks About Her Inspirations, Her Love of Teaching, and the Importance of Personal Growth
(This story appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Full Circle, Castilleja School Magazine)
For Chloe Sargeant, Middle School Athletic Director, no work day is ever the same. During the school day, you can find her at Joan Z. Lonergan Fitness and Athletics Center teaching strength exercises and fitness games to 7th and 8th grade students.
Or she might be meeting with her 7th grade advisees to discuss school projects, chat about activities they’re nervous or excited about, or educate them about digital citizenship. After school, she’s off to coach swimming and basketball, drive teams to games, or meet with the local schools competing in the West Bay Athletic League.
“It’s never boring!” exclaims Ms. Sargeant with her signature enthusiasm. “Even if I’ve taught the same kids twenty times, every single class is different.”
Ms. Sargeant, who joined Castilleja in August and has master’s degrees in Education and in Public Policy, has spent a decade working at public schools in the Bay Area and in Utah and directing an athletic program across several districts. She’s also worked for the San Jose Sharks and for the Peninsula Bridge. Wherever she goes, she brings her philosophy with her: sports isn’t all about winning. It’s about doing your best and seeking out new challenges.
It’s a lesson she learned from her older brother, who has a genetic disability that makes balancing difficult. As a kid, Ms. Sargeant used to watch her brother compete on his high school swim team. She remembers swimmers getting up on their platforms and the coach commanding, “Swimmers, take your mark!” All swimmers would then leap from their platforms into the water, powering forward with butterfly and freestyle strokes.Everyone except her brother. Unable to balance on the block, he would start competing in the water and come in last.
“I remember watching my brother and getting vicariously upset for him. I was crying,” remembers Ms. Sargeant, who didn’t understand why he couldn’t utilize the platform like his teammates did.
“Doing my best is more important than being the best,” her brother explained. “I’m racing against myself, and I’m improving every time, and that’s so much more important to me than winning.”
These words changed Ms. Sargeant’s relationship with athletics and her worldview. “I just want to do my best and enjoy the process,” says Ms. Sargeant. It’s a lesson she also learned from her mother, a kindergarten teacher who was fully engaged in her classroom and with her three children after work when Ms. Sargeant was growing up.
In school, Ms. Sargeant played basketball, competed on the swim team, and taught surfing, ultimately choosing a career in athletic education. Her husband is a college tennis coach, and Ms. Sargeant plays in an adult tennis league.
Now at Castilleja, she values the learning environment of a girls’ school. In co-ed schools, she’s noticed that some female students worried about how they were perceived and about being teased for saying the wrong thing. Yet at Castilleja, she sees students show up and be rewarded for trying their best. “There’s this sense of camaraderie and love and empowerment,” she says. “There is so much space to grow in a way that feels really safe. I’ve never heard people go up and speak at assemblies where people are yelling and cheering them on.”
She encourages students to keep growing by trying new classes, sports, arts, and extracurriculars. “Try as much as you can and be willing to laugh at yourself if it doesn't go according to plan,” she tells them. “And if it does, embrace it. We’re here to support you.”