Raiders rally to celebrate school’s new athletic facilities

The sounds of cheers, music, and, of course, basketballs filled the air Friday, Dec. 13, as North Shore Country Day celebrated the grand reopening of the Mac Gym and the surrounding facilities.

The Mac Gym closed in January for renovations and the construction of additions to the south and west sides that school officials reported would cost up to $13 million. The resulting Mac McCarty Athletic Center, dedicated on Dec. 13, includes a turf fitness area, an athletic training area, a new stairwell and elevator, new locker rooms and athletic offices, according to Christine Wachter, associate director of marketing and strategic communications for NSCD.

Updates to the Mac Gym include a new sound system, new bleachers, new scoreboards, a scorers table, and a refurbished original gym floor. Finishing touches set to be installed over winter break include a mural wall.

Friday’s celebration included an all-school pep rally with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, a relay competition and a knockout tournament.

Additionally, the girls and boys varsity basketball teams christened the gym, playing their first games in their new home space to cap the evening.

During the pep rally, Head of School Dr. Tom Flemma told the North Shore Country Day community that the new athletic facility is a gift to them.

“It is the holiday season, and it is an incredible, incredible privilege for all of us at the school to present this gift of this building to all of you,” he said, “the students, faculty and staff that are going to benefit from this space for decades and decades to come.”

Flemma thanked the donors who helped contribute to the athletic building, and the staff who helped work with construction teams over the past year to get everything completed.

He also encouraged everybody to utilize the updated Mac Gym and the rest of the new facility.

“I hope that you use every square inch of this building,” he said. “That you enjoy it, that you come and you work out here, you play, you practice, you study, you hang out with your friends, because this is all for you and for the generations of students to come.”

Athletic Director Patrick McHugh, speaking with The Record prior to the pep rally, called the new facility “a beautiful building.” He compared what used to be there to an old shoe, in that, on one hand, it was comfortable and familiar.

On the other hand, though, “because it was like an old shoe, it had seen better days and we needed to bring the facility up to state-of-the-art, as we are right now,” he said.

McHugh said that in his 31 years at North Shore Country Day every other building had been improved upon in some way, but for many years, the gym remained the same.

“And I think that improving it was really important for us to show that athletics is an important part of the program here at North Shore,” he said.

For the student athletes, McHugh said he’s most interested in seeing how they use it to improve.

“For me, I obviously love the performance improvement of our athletes,” he said. “Whether they come to us and they can’t run a mile, and then when they graduate, they’re making it to the state in cross-country or track and field, or our basketball team, which hasn’t had this type of facility, or our volleyball team to practice in ever. I’m particularly excited about the kind of performance improvements the facility will allow us.”

He also thanked the donors who helped fund the project.

“The enrollment is small,” McHugh said. “(But) I think the power is pretty impressive when you see what our alums ultimately do.”

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