By M.E. Jones

DEVENS — When the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School boys track team won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, MIAA, championship in February, it constituted a well-earned feather in the cap of a small public charter school better known for its non-traditonal philosophy than for sports.

But that’s changing.

The head coach of the winning team, Parker School Athletic Director Ben Benoit, explained why in a recent interview. Benoit traced the success story of the four-year-old team and described a sports program that has grown and thrived during his 20-year tenure with competitive options such as Ultimate Frisbee, boys’ and girls’ teams, co-ed teams and his specialty, track and field.

Principal Brian Harrigan said the sports program Benoit has developed dovetails with Parker’s compentency-based learning model, including personalized classroom support and students demonstrating mastery in each subject. “Sports is analagous to that philosophy,” Harrigan said.

And the results, including the recent MIAA win by the boys track team, “speak for themselves,” he said. “Obviously, the kids do it. But Ben and his coaching team put them in a place to excel.”

Team members who meet regularly with Benoit after school talked about why they signed up and how they stick with what sounds like a rigorous training schedule. Common threads include cameraderie and the competitive spirit Benoit’s coaching style has fostered. Winning felt great, energizing and worth striving for, they said. But it wasn’t why they joined nor why they stay.

Team members include Nathan Davis of Littleton, Nathaniel Henshaw of Templeton, Cormac Hildreth of Ayer, Danny Garrison of Groton, Zephyr Schermerhorn of Shirley and Jett Johnson of Bolton.

Zephyr wasn’t a runner when he joined the team. “I was not into sports at all,” he said. But he values the team. “I did what I had to do to be part of it,“ he said. Hard work and all.

Cormac had played hockey, but he wasn’t a runner, either. Until now. He noted the “consistency” of his team as a positive. All of them “almost always show up” for practice, he said. And he doesn’t find it hard. “I love this program.”

Jett said a positive attitude makes it easier to tackle the hard work being on the team requires. “It’s a commitment,” he said. “And the team is a community.“

Henshaw agreed. “This has become my life,” he said. “It’s all-consuming but worth it.”

Garrison said he wasn’t “very social” when he first came to the school. “But they showed me what it is to be at Parker . . . and to have friends.”

Henshaw said the social aspect is a big part of his commitment to the team on and off the field—”just being with each other,” he said. “Hanging out.”

Remarkably, none of the students were runners before nor were they stellar student athletes. In a different environment, they may not have made the team. But Benoit said the Parker School sports program has a no-cut policy. “If you try out, you’re on the team,” he said. “After that, it’s up to you.”