Playing the Long Game: Tory Adams ’23 Shares Her Sports Journey
Collegiate athlete Tory Adams ’23 doesn’t measure success by scorecards, but rather by a genuine love of learning that began at Concord Academy. “CA prepared me very well for managing both rigorous academics and athletics,” she says.
During her senior year at CA, Adams served as captain of the varsity ski and soccer teams. Throughout high school, she earned four overall individual Central Massachusetts Ski League championships and three individual New England Preparatory School Athletic Council championships, two in slalom and one in giant slalom. Now a junior at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, she is a biochemistry major with a minor in German, and she has emerged as an integral player on Bates’ women’s golf team.
This past fall, Adams captured the individual New England Intercollegiate Golf Association championship and supported her team in securing the overall title. Though the victory was rewarding, she found the most validation in the training process itself. During the golf competition, she avoided comparing herself to other players—a focus on personal growth rather than formal awards familiar from her CA days. “I match my own progress against myself,” she says.
An aptitude for golf runs in Adams’ family. Her sister, Mandy Adams ’24, plays golf for Dartmouth College, and their mother, Tracy Welch ’89, P’23 ’24, who also played at the collegiate level, introduced them to the sport as a way to bond. Adams’ commitment to golf grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave her time to practice outdoors. College recruitment then presented a natural opportunity to refine her technique.
At Bates, Adams’ commitment to sports hasn’t overshadowed academics. She shares that when Henry D. Fairfax became CA’s head of school during her senior year, his emphasis on integrating academics, arts, and athletics inspired her to pursue all of her passions. She has carried that mentality into college, balancing advanced STEM and language courses with a demanding practice schedule.
Adams credits the communication skills she learned through close relationships with faculty and mentors at CA, including her ski coaches John McGarry P’22 ’23 and Peter Jennings P’20 ’21 ’25, with helping her succeed. “At CA, you interact with teachers so often that you learn how to have a conversation with an adult,” she says. “ Moving into college, especially at a liberal arts school, it’s easy now to talk with professors, ask questions, and go to office hours for support.”
At CA, Adams took an exercise physiology course taught by her former advisor, Andrea Yanes P’22 ’24 ’27, that deepened her engagement in science. The final was an intensive, long-form research paper. She notes that the experience taught her how to locate credible sources, read primary literature, and take and measure data, abilities she uses daily in college.
The course led her to become a pre-med student. She plans to attend graduate school to become a doctor and build a career in sports medicine. Her direction is also personal: After two recent knee surgeries, she hopes to help other athletes stay healthy and strong. Though she still loves skiing and soccer, she has increasingly turned to golf because it’s easier on her joints.
Adams has earned an emergency medical technician (EMT) certification and hopes to gain clinical or research experience during a planned gap year before medical school. Despite her achievements, she resists defining herself by any single accomplishment. “I’m most proud of how I throw myself into everything I do 100%,” she said. “Sometimes that leads to results, sometimes it doesn’t, but I know I’ve done the best work I can.”
She has some advice for CA students: “Take advantage of the opportunities that CA provides. Try something new, because it may end up surprising you.” Whether on the golf course, in the lab, or in the classroom, Adams embraces each opportunity to the fullest.
