<p>Actually, Yale’s website answers my question.
“Your recommenders must be able to write about your recent work in rigorous academic subjects. We strongly encourage you to submit recommendations from 11th and 12th grade teachers. Yale has an extremely competitive applicant pool, so it’s probably unwise to submit a recommendation from a favorite 9th grade teacher or from a coach or chorus director unless he or she has also taught you recently in an academic course.”
So I’ve just been disadvantaged. I gracefully accept this fact, and I’m posting this as a lesson to other applicants. ONLY USE RECS FROM ACADEMIC TEACHERS. Not gym teachers, coaches, mentors etc.</p>