History Teacher Beth Eby likes sports. She likes them so much that she doesn’t just play or watch them; she has made them central to her career. With a Ph.D. in U.S. history and a dissertation titled “Building Bodies, (Un)Making Empire: Gender, Sports, and Colonialism in the United States,” sports are an important element of her work as a historian and teacher. Eby is sharing her passion and expertise with Poly students this fall in a new history elective, Sports History.
The new elective examines societal roles in the history of sports and discusses current topics such as women in sports, indigenous people in sports, politics in sports, and more. This course attracts students with a specific interest in the topic, including those aspects that may be more controversial. This course “is particularly geared towards students with certain interests and is intended to excite, light the fire in someone who hadn’t thought about history as relevant to such a fertile topic,” said Upper School Dean Department Chair Emily Gardiner. Sports History is conversation-based and aims to engage students in a discussion rather than use a traditional lecture style. This fall semester, eighteen students are enrolled in the course.
Eby finds the history of women and gender in sports particularly interesting. She believes “it needs to be more prominently known that women have always been active participants in sports.” Women in sports have always been important to not just Eby but also Poly and its students. An article from the New York Times dated October 9, 1977, “At Poly Prep, Girls End a Tradition but Not the Winning One” by Paul Winfield, reports on the first women’s sports teams at Poly and the transformation the school underwent to accommodate female athletes while becoming coed. Furthermore, last year, Poly hosted a tribute for National Girls and Women in Sports Day, continuing to build a strong tradition of women’s sports in the school community.
Regarding the Sports History class, multiple teachers, including Gardiner and Virginia Dillon, head of the history department, agree that Eby’s teaching style complements the class. “I would say that she is a good fit for the class,” said Dillon. Eby uses a more flexible approach while teaching to bring a positive reception. “The teaching style in the class is less strict, and students are given more freedom to express their opinions about the topics we discuss,” said junior Julian Rorech.
At Poly, history teachers can be creative in designing classes and curriculums. Although some of these classes, like Sports History, are electives instead of core requirements, they provide students with variety in their schedules and the ability to register for required courses and topics of interest. “Most of our electives are driven by the teachers’ desire to create a focus for 11th and 12th graders,” said Gardiner.
While the Sports History course is new to Poly, it is not entirely new for Eby. Along with her Ph.D., she previously taught a similar course at the University of Texas at Austin. “When the idea was first presented, I believed that it would have a good reception,” said Dillon. So far, the teachers were right. “I play lacrosse myself, and it has a vibrant history, so this class is exciting for me,” said junior Tyler Pelson. Most of the students currently taking the course provided only positive feedback. “I find the class interesting, and Dr. Eby is a great teacher,” said senior Archie Neibart. Eby was not surprised by the students’ positive reception: “I thought that it would be a popular class among students, given Poly’s sports reputation.” Poly has had a long and renowned history with sports. A Polygon article by Jesse Cavaliero dated April 7, 2023, “The Dynasty of Poly Sports,” discusses Poly’s relationship with sports and the Poly community throughout the years.
Eby, Dillon, and Gardiner all agree that Sports History is a class that everyone should consider, as sports is a topic enjoyed by many Poly students. “Students can benefit from learning about the challenges different communities have faced in accessing all realms of sports…Many people know the more common stories, such as the integration of baseball and Jackie Robinson. Still, they don’t know other communities’ nuances,” said Eby.
