Between the Teddy Maloney '88 Hockey Rink and the tennis courts, nestled up against the Proctor Woodlands and where the terrain begins to rise and extend towards Ragged Mountain, sits Proctor’s Outdoor Center, home to Proctor's Mountain Biking Program.
On fall afternoons, students and coaches gather immediately after classes, change into riding gear, collect their bikes from their lockers, and fine-tune them before hitting the trails. With the Outdoor Center as the hub, over 40 miles of meticulously maintained trails fan out to the north, south, and east, letting riders maximize their time outside, tackling grueling ascents and technical descents within Proctor’s 2,500 acres.
"We're so fortunate that we have miles upon miles of trails right at our back door that we're able to just go out and ride every day," 2025 Team Captain Anna '26 reflected. Proctor's trail system, in existence for decades, is constantly stewarded, improved, and expanded – and Proctor students are an integral part of that effort. On Thursday afternoons, riders trade their bikes for tools, clearing downed trees and keeping the paths open for everyone who uses the Woodlands. "Trail work day is one of my favorite days of the week ... the trails aren't just for the Mountain Biking Team. They are for the greater Proctor community," Anna continued. The network keeps growing, too. Will '27 added, "I really like the new trail they just put in at the ski hill, which is called Cheetah. I've been able to see it grow over the past two years." The Outdoor Center, which opened in 2020, supports every facet of the Mountain Biking Program. Dedicated locker and equipment storage, as well as coaches' and riders' workshops, provide students with a comfortable setup for bike storage and maintenance, providing them with more time for the activity they love.
Student-athletes and coaches consistently return to one theme when asked why the Mountain Biking Program means so much to them: the community that forms each year. Riders of every background come together on one diverse team – from novices learning to pedal alongside racers with a decade of experience – united by a shared passion. In what is often viewed as an individual sport, team members create a culture in which competing at the highest level and supporting one another are not mutually exclusive. Students come to know their coaches – often their teachers, dorm parents, or advisors – in a different context, and those relationships deepen as a result. Coaches push athletes to extend their skills while still cultivating a positive and supportive team culture. There is no hierarchy. Riders work hard and give back, while never losing sight of what attracted them to the sport in the first place – the joy of riding.
Students also come to understand that Proctor’s trail system is a resource worth stewarding – not only for the Proctor community but also for the wider Andover community and beyond. "When they go off somewhere else, they understand the importance of doing that work and helping with the local trail systems, volunteering with mountain bike organizations, or trail work organizations," Head Coach Josh Norris emphasized.
Josh and Assistant Coaches Chris Farrell, Chris Grotnes, Justin Sperry, and Jen Summers set the traditional team goals – developing skills, competing, and winning races. But an often-overlooked benefit of mountain biking, and of Proctor's other outdoor and athletic programs, is its impact on students' health and well-being. Physical activity, alone and as part of a team, provides immediate and long-term benefits for mental and physical health – the burning lungs and sense of accomplishment at the top of a climb, the wind in your face on a switchback descent. Out on the trails, students can breathe, leave behind the noise of their day-to-day lives, take in the natural world, and feel the emotional lift that follows a good sweat and an increased heart rate.
One of the program's stated goals is to create lifelong mountain bikers and stewards of community resources – or, as Chris Farrell put it, "giving back to what you're given." As Will '27 reflected, that is the whole point. “It allows us to grow a connection to the trails that we ride on,” he said. “We put work into this and we get to ride it, and it's something to be proud of.”
Read "Building Trails, Building Community" on pages 32-33 of the 2025 Proctor Magazine
- Athletics
- Environmental Stewardship
- Woodlands