NMH’s athletics facilities continue to expand — for the benefit of the entire community

If you’ve been on the Northfield Mount Hermon campus over the past year, you’ve likely seen signs advertising the soon-to-be-completed NMH Ice Barn, heard the construction behind the current McCollum Arena, or watched as the new ice hockey facility rises from the site of the old orchard.

The NMH Ice Barn is just the latest piece in the school’s growing “athletics village,” a physical footprint that reflects the passion, dedication, and community spirit of scholar-athletes and the school’s mission to educate the head, heart, and hand.

With about 80% of students participating in athletics, creating facilities that serve all levels of athletes is a top priority for the school, said Michael Shelton, NMH’s varsity basketball coach and interim athletics director. NMH has made upgrading facilities a key priority of This Place, This Moment: The Campaign for Northfield Mount Hermon.

“We have this awesome, enriching 360 experience at NMH,” Shelton said. “Our athletes don’t have to sacrifice their academic experience for an extremely good, holistic athletic experience. The school has done a really good job of putting resources into those facilities to allow our students an opportunity to do their best work.”

Recent projects include the Draper Riverhouse, built in 2017 to give NMH’s rowing teams a state-of-the-art home and a new connection to the Connecticut River; the Li Wrestling Center, opened in 2022 to support a rapidly growing program while creating a new space for community events; and the renovation of the Calagione Fitness Center in 2021, followed by the hiring of strength and conditioning coach Kerem Posacioglu in 2023, which expanded access to training and wellness for the entire NMH community.

Last summer, the school installed a new turf surface on Thorndike Field, with a goal of improving safety for athletes. The NMH Ice Barn, slated to open in fall 2026, will offer a climate-controlled, modernized arena for the boys’ and girls’ ice hockey teams, which have had to use off-campus facilities for practices and games when it is too warm to maintain ice in McCollum Arena.

“The quality of life they’re going to have, being able to walk from their dorm down to the ice, is going to change their NMH experience,” said Jake Bennett, boys’ varsity hockey coach and assistant director of annual giving and athletic engagement. “That’s what’s great about all the things we’ve done, from the boathouse to wrestling, the weight room, the turf fields. Whether you’re a potential pro athlete or you just want to learn to row, you have that same accessibility.” For the girls’ hockey team, The NMH Ice Barn’s completion will align with an important milestone, said varsity head coach Brianna Wood.

“We’re approaching our 50th anniversary as a program at NMH,” Wood said. “I want [the team] to realize, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the first team in the [new rink]. You’re going to be part of NMH history.’”

The transformation of McCollum Arena into a multiuse fieldhouse will be a key piece of the athletics structure NMH is building, Bennett said, by allowing teams to practice year-round and providing new community gathering space.

“February can be challenging at boarding school,” he said. “To have an indoor facility where you can hold events and practices in the winter is huge. The opportunities are practically endless with that space.”

“It’s just another way that the sports programs at NMH can improve together,” agreed Wilder Pritham ’26, who plays on the girls’ lacrosse and cross-country teams. “It’s something that benefits the whole NMH athletics community.”

These upgrades not only serve current students but also strengthen NMH’s recruiting efforts, said Trevar Haefele, boys’ varsity lacrosse coach. “The end goal is we want more kids to come and find out what a great opportunity this is.”

“It brings in new recruits, but it also brings a sense of gratitude,” varsity wrestler Nate Consigli ’26 said of the Li Wrestling Center. “We were able to get this nice facility from donors and a school who really care about athletics, so we have to use it to the best of our abilities.”

Shelton pointed to community-focused programs developed across the athletics department, including youth clinics run by the lacrosse, tennis, and soccer teams, where students and coaches volunteer to teach faculty kids on campus.

Improved facilities, Shelton said, allow such programs to grow. “As a new dad myself, I’m excited to have my son grow up in a community where he’s going to be able to have so many different touchpoints. That’s what our spaces can really afford.”

All the projects support NMH’s larger goal of helping students develop the tools to thrive, said Chloe Corbin ’26, a starter for the varsity girls’ ice hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse teams.

“After playing three varsity sports all four years, I’ve realized the importance of balance and being well-rounded,” Corbin said. “I’ve used my leadership skills, my teamwork skills, all the things I’ve learned, out in the real world.”

“It’s not just about the program; it’s about the school,” said Consigli. “I feel like NMH caring about athletics is actually caring about us as humans. It’s not just about getting good grades on a test. It’s about becoming a well-rounded individual, learning discipline and curiosity, all those things that contribute to who you are as a person. When you have support behind you, that’s when you can be your best.”

By Max Hunt

PHOTOS: MATTHEW CAVANAUGH, BEN BARNHART, AND DAN LITTLE