In Talk with Eric Lee
By Jack Pegler ‘24
As the fall season of the 2022-2023 school year comes to a head, GFA’s expansive athletic program has seen great success, guided by Athletic Director Eric Lee. Lee just began his second year at the school after coming from his role as Senior Director of Player Development for the Cincinnati Reds.
During an interview earlier this month, Lee spoke about his goals and ambitions for the GFA athletic department: “I want to make sure that our athletics and P.E program is serving every student, and meeting them where they are.”
As well as his reflection on the responsibility to serve every student athletically no matter their skill level, Lee also mentioned the passion he feels for sports, as a former collegiate baseball player and high school tri-varsity athlete.
“The kids that I was on teams with, the coaches I had, the teachers who were coaches I had, completely shaped me and made me want to do this for the rest of my life [...and] I think I was kind of ready to find out what this was going to be,” Lee said.
With the fall season coming to an end, the GFA athletic teams have had varying levels of success. Though winning records are welcome, Lee stressed the importance of individual moments and experiences that make playing sports so special. He believes that these moments are far more memorable than any number of wins or losses.
“The reality is every team has a moment. That’s what makes sports so great. It's easy to say the teams are having great results on the field, but the true reason why I’m here is what you gain from the experience of being on a team,” Lee said.
Most importantly of all, Lee emphasized how welcoming the GFA community was in his transition from the MLB to Athletic Director.
“ The quality of athletes here, but more importantly the quality of person, from student, to parent, to faculty, staff, community member, has way outstripped anything that I could’ve expected. It's been awesome,” Lee said.
