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Wednesday, October 1, 2008
New Schools Are Growing Up
Raleigh Durham, NC
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Todd Schuler knows there will be some emotional nights in the very near future. As athletic director at Panther Creek High, he will be part of the school’s first-ever senior night games in each sport this year. He and his staff of coaches have looked forward to this time since the new school opened with only underclassmen in 2006.
As the first group of sophomores has grown, so has the Catamounts’ program.
Both are now fully mature.
Volleyball player, Devan Strack is one of those seniors at Panther Creek. She hopes the class of 2009 has laid a firm foundation for Catamounts of the future. “Panther Creek is going to be a great school,” she said. “We’re not the baby school. We’re going to be leaders. We started it off and hopefully the underclassmen will follow and make it great.”
There are some unique challenges that come along with starting a new school and a new athletic program. There are burdens for athletic directors, coaches and student-athletes, but there are also rewards.
Schuler is not the only area A.D. who will bid farewell to a senior class for the first time this school year. Like Schuler, Andy Wheeler at Holly Springs High and April Ross at Carrboro High both know the highs and lows of new school athletics.
The Wake County school system opens new high schools with only ninth and tenth graders. Carrboro High, part of the Chapel Hill City School System, opened last fall with no senior class. That means new schools in the Triangle area must field varsity level teams with either no upperclassmen or very few during the first year of operation.
Holly Springs and Panther Creek both opened their doors in the fall of 2006.
“Our first year, we basically played with freshmen and sophomores,” Wheeler said. “It’s difficult when you have a ninth grade young man or young woman competing against a senior.”
That makes for some lean times in the win column, but Wheeler said he has encouraged his coaches to be creative in their motivation.
“I think our coaches did a good job of taking small steps with their teams,” he said. “You have to take games in small increments. Let’s win this four minute stretch or let’s win this quarter. You can’t get hung up on wins and losses. Remember, you’re in it for the long haul.”
Ross was an athletic director at an established high school for nine years in Ohio before coming to Carrboro. She said building and improving facilities and booster clubs and establishing academic as well as athletic traditions intrigued her about the opportunity at Carrboro High. One day she might be figuring out how to provide concessions with no concession stand. The next, she might be trying to schedule a game so it finishes before dark because lights have yet to be installed.
“It was one of my lifelong dreams to be part of the creative process of starting a program,” she explained. “There’s still a lot to be done. There’s always a new challenge and a new project to work on. We’re still in development. But it’s always fun to come to work in the morning.”
Wheeler agreed, saying that the best thing that comes along with a lot of youth in your program is the enthusiasm that younger student-athletes bring to the campus.
Carlos Rodon was an enthusiastic freshman pitcher at Holly Springs last spring. He was part of a young staff that led the Golden Hawks to the school’s first playoff appearance last season. He said he felt like he couldn’t lose even though he was facing older players each time he took the mound.
“For me, it’s a win-win situation,” he explained. “Because if I throw a strike, they’re supposed to hit it because I’m a freshman and they’re a junior or a senior. If I throw it they’re supposed to hit. But if I strike ‘em out, I’m still a winner. So, either way I win.”
Senior Panther Creek volleyball player, Krista Stanley said she and her classmates were able to get varsity experience sooner than if they had played at more established programs. She said she feels like she has gotten to be a senior for two years instead of one.
Becky Grzesik, also a Catamounts volleyball senior, said the opportunity to be a team leader at such an early age taught her and the class of 2009 some hard earned lessons. Playing through the difficult times has made her class stronger, and now the younger players can benefit from their experience.
“Don’t give up because it’s hard,” she said. “Don’t make excuses, because the last couple of years, people made a lot of excuses for us saying that we didn’t have seniors, especially when we weren’t winning. Just don’t make excuses for yourself. Try hard and put your heart out there no matter what.”
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