For some Noble Academy alums, playing sports taught invaluable lessons in discipline, character, and teamwork. In this episode, a 2021 graduate and a recent 2024 parent share why they appreciate what they got from athletics at Noble.
Gayle:
Families choose Noble for the academic support, the community, and the mission. Students need us for those things. No one would claim that the athletics program is the leading factor in admissions. But make no mistake: for some students, Noble sports are a big, big deal.
And when you stop to think about it, for students who found previous schools overwhelming, it didn’t matter how great their own skills were on a field or court, or what impressive teams they could have played for, because they did not have the time. Struggling academically often means hours of homework support and tutoring, leaving little time for play.
At Noble, our kids get to play. They get to participate and to compete. Many times they win. Our cheerleaders are there, cheering them on, and parents and teachers come out to support them.
In talking to alumni and past parents, I have started to think the story of Noble’s athletics deserves more time in the spotlight. So today, let’s hear from a Noble graduate from the class of 2021, and from a parent whose son graduated just last year, in 2024. Their time at Noble didn’t overlap, but what does overlap is their appreciation for both the academic and athletic encouragement they found here. Let’s begin.
Kevin:
My name is Kevin Busch. I started at Noble Academy in the eighth grade and stayed all the way through graduation to the year 2021.
I was diagnosed at age two with Aspergers, but what got me accepted into Noble Academy was my central auditory processing disorder. And for me, what it means is essentially when there's information spewed at me verbally, if I don't have time to properly process it, it goes in one ear and out the other. In public school, it was always lightning pace, and as long as the majority of the class understood it, it was good enough for the teacher. That's really why I started to fall behind, especially in subjects like science and math, whereas I needed to have a proper sit-down, understand the step-by-step, and go a lot slower than the other kids.
I was afraid of asking questions because I didn't want to stand out in the crowd and sort of be the odd guy out. At Noble Academy, when I got to have that one-on-one relationship with a teacher, they got a better understanding of what I needed before I even knew what I needed. It was really a great experience to sort of learn that it's okay to ask to slow down, that it's okay to advocate for yourself and not feel like a fool in the process. That's definitely one of the biggest gratitudes I have towards the Noble community.
Noble Academy is very valuable not just to the community but to Greensboro within itself because it provides a safe space for kids like me who might have trouble in public schools, who might learn things a different way, who see things differently, who think outside of the box.
The first transformative experience I had at Noble Academy was when I was a freshman in high school. I was an up-and-coming athlete, I wanted to prove myself, prove my worth, and so whenever we had breaks or recess or study halls, I would be doing something physically productive like running laps, shooting baskets, push-ups, you name it. One day I was running laps on the soccer fields outside and the facilities guy at the time, his name was Matt Wassong, he saw me working out and he approached me and said "What do you do?" I said, “I'm running laps for cross country season and soccer season” so I could stay in shape and so I could keep getting better, and all these things as an upcoming freshman would be excited about.
He sort of heard and saw my ambitions and saw in my eyes like how I had certain goals, and he was very helpful and said if you ever need help training, if you ever want an ear, I'd be happy to help you out because he did athletics, he did baseball and was at the time the soccer coach. I was like, "Thank you sir, I appreciate it." And he was a big part of me becoming a student athlete. Prior to Noble, I had no idea that I had even the potential to become an athlete. I just thought I was a kid with energy and spunk. It took him really sort of recognizing my athletic promise and then fine-tuning it to where I could be a respected athlete at the school.
It really sort of came together during the faculty-staff versus student flag football game. The students won by one point, it was 20-27. Mr. Matt was the quarterback for the other team and he threw a Hail Mary in the end zone to my English teacher who was Mr. Blair, but I intercepted him on the final play of the game and solidified the victory for the students. He approached me after the game, we shook hands and he was like "I'm proud of you, you've really been putting in the hard work both on and off the field, on and off the court, you have real promise to not only be a high school athlete but to take it to the next level." He said this to me as a freshman when I was still trying to figure out what kind of athlete I wanted to be, what sports I wanted to pursue, and to have that little layer of confidence that early on was definitely the start of the transition of Kevin Busch being more than a student but being a student athlete.
WILLIAM:
So my name is William Lowe, and my son, Kendal Lowe, went to Noble last year, and he graduated there.
Well, he did go to public school before. And he actually came to us and said, you know, I'm struggling in class. You know, I want to go to a smaller classroom setting. You know? And he did that. And once we got there, some of the things that they worked with him on was, advocating for himself. He tends to be a quiet, you know, student or child.
So I would say, Noble class sizes were, you know, great for him because it was not, you know, too big and overwhelming, like, when he was in the public school. But there was enough kids there for him to have, you know, interaction. And like I said, you know, just having things like prom and, you know, some other, you know, the sports he really, really enjoyed. So I would say, you know, that class sizes are really great for kids, you know, learning differences because they still get, you know, kind of not 1-on-1, but small group instruction.
The teachers, you know, were great. We talked to coach Woodson, you know, quite a bit with – he actually helped Kendall too, or or, you know, made some recommendations, looked out, and even sent information to colleges about him, wanting to run for us. So we, you know, really appreciated that. But I would say the staff there is great at Noble. You know, the kids were great.
So, he played soccer at Noble. He did not run cross country, but he did, play soccer, and he also played flag football at Noble.
Well, he has a passion to run, track. And he started running track a few years ago.He ran when he was younger, but it wasn't very competitive running. You know, he ran with some teams. But then, a few years ago, he really wanted to do more competitive running. We found the AAU team. And so, he joined the team in High Point, and started running, you know, going to races, different meets and that kind of thing and running competitively.
And so, he really enjoyed that and had a drive to do it. So, he wanted to continue with college, and he wanted to continue running throughout college. And so, he goes to Guilford College. Now he's a freshman this year. He's also on the track team and the cross country team there.
Small small community school there and, you know, great environment.
He went, you know, from high school level homework to doing a lot of, 500 word essays. You know, it's a lot of papers that he's been writing, but he goes to tutoring there once a week, and they've been helping him, you know, getting him started for that. And he's worked really hard at staying on top of his assignments, getting his papers, you know, completed. So we were very, you know, proud of him for that. And, also, he did not plan on running cross country.
He only planned on running track there. But, like, the first day, the cross country team was meeting in the lunchroom. The first day he went, he talked to them. They talked him into running cross country. So he joined the cross country team, and he had the fastest time of anyone at Guilford since, 2021, I believe. So, you know, that was a great accomplishment.
KEVIN:
These days I am a senior in college. I graduate this May with a history degree and two minors in creative writing and rhetoric, and after I graduate I'm attending law school.
I pursued athletics in college. I got asked to walk on to the Hampden College football team where I didn't play any active games, but I was on the team for a semester before realizing football wasn't the proper move for me, college football wasn't in the plan for me. So I switched to varsity swimming and varsity distance track. I did swim team for two years and I ran on the track team all four years.
Athletics is a deep part of who I am and it started with Noble Academy. Having sort of - it's more than being physically active and staying healthy, but it builds discipline, it builds character. It's essential when things don't go your way in a game, in a match, having the ability to recognize not only where you went wrong but how you can improve it. It carries over to far more than athletics. In the classroom, if you didn't do as well on an exam, you could ask yourself somewhere on the court what can I do to be better. And it only got stronger in college. The college athletic game is a whole lot different than high school and it requires a lot more discipline and a lot more asking yourself, you know, how can I be better for myself and for my teammates.
After I graduate, I intend on taking a year off of college to work full time. In that process, I will be studying for the LSAT and planning on attending law school. Where I want to go to law school has yet to be determined. Right now the idea is to graduate college and study for the LSAT, but right now I would like to stay local.
Noble Academy prepared me for college in two big ways. The first one being not being afraid to advocate for myself, you know, saying to myself it's okay to go to the office hours, it's okay to ask questions in class, it's okay to slow the pace down just a little bit to ensure I understand it. And secondly, that it's okay to hold on to moral character and to sort of hold on to things that you told yourself in high school that you were going to pursue, like holding yourself accountable and keeping that discipline, but Noble really helped me stay disciplined and true to myself and not fold under peer pressure, which really helps in college.
My advice for any Noble Academy student is be the best person who you are, never apologize for being yourself, and if you have a dream, if you have a goal in life, don't be afraid to try and accomplish it. You will rise, you will fall, but in the end I truly believe that anyone who has the ambition and the drive to get what they want out of life, then they can get it.
Gayle:
Today I want to thank Kevin, William, and Kendal. I also want to thank every past and present coach, assistant athletic director, and athletic director at Guilford Day School and Noble Academy. You may never know the full impact of your dedication, but I can tell you that the impact is significant, and it is just one of the many reasons why we say, I am proud to be Noble.