2017-18 Sports Report

From Chuck Freeman, Athletic Director......

Overview

• I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve this past year and look forward to the next. I have learned so much, and hope to build on this year….and know a whole lot more what to expect and what is expected of me.
• It is my observation that teamwork is a huge positive aspect about our athletic program at McGraw. Year highlighted by working together with administration, maintenance, bussing, working out scheduling conflicts with other programs (ex. music), working with nurses, interfacing with the village (through Tom McCall), student and parental volunteers as well as teacher cooperation. It is a big team that makes this work!
• 4 out of 8 varsity teams were scholar teams. 75% of the team had to average a 90% GPA or better.
• Since we have discontinued JV teams in the Fall and Spring seasons, Modified coaching will be vital to sport growth. We will see how that works out over the next couple of years.
• Finding and keeping coaches will be a challenge in the coming years. State regulations, certifications, and student behavior are just a few of the focal points. It is my concern that Class D schools like McGraw are challenged unfairly to have to maintain the same level of requirements as the highest classified schools.
• When it comes to scheduling nonleague teams, we will be reaching out to more Section 4 teams.
• Transportation could be a challenge. For example, in the fall we have to send out 2 buses on a few Saturdays and weekdays due to scheduling.
• We will need to update some uniforms…basketball, goalie shirts.
• We will be needing to update baseball and softball equipment.

Fall Sports Season

• I assumed the AD responsibility just at the tail end of the Soccer season
• We did have a Girls JV team this year, but only were able to schedule 9 games out of a possible 16. All games were against non-league teams.  We will not be fielding any JV soccer teams in 2018 due to lack of league participation.
• The Cincy games at Cortland State were again a big event. Unfortunately, it was marked by both our teams losing. Games started later than usual due to a Cortland State football game prior to our matches.
• There were 88 athletes participating this past soccer season
• The modified programs continued to be instructional in nature.  Boys had a very successful season going 9-1-1.  Girls struggled to just maintain a team. With the discontinuing of the Girls JV team there will be some older girls playing with the younger modified in 2018.
• Varsity boys had to overcome losing 11 players from the previous year, 8 of them were starters.
• Girls Varsity ended up advancing to the sectionals. This was one of the of the team’s goals in the beginning of the season.

Winter Sports Season

• 98 participants in 8 programs
• The 3 modified teams were all very young and inexperienced. Grades posed a problem for Boys Basketball. Girls Volleyball and Basketball saw much stronger play and more success. Hats off to Mrs. Tanner and Corey Wilson.
• Girls JV Volleyball started very rough, lacking self-esteem and confidence. They grew over the season to being much more competitive.
• Girls Varsity Volleyball was a building season marked by strong leadership, sectional play, and Jade VanWagenen named All Section 3.
• Boys JV and Varsity Basketball were extremely successful. It started with the boys focusing on the goal of returning to the Sectional tournament and winning. They coined the phrase “Unfinished Business” and along with talent and athleticism, brought them to the Section 3 final defeating Madison at the Syracuse Dome. It was also Coach Martin’s 100^th win.

Spring Sports Season

• 70 participants in 5 programs
• Season marked by snow, rain, scheduling bottlenecks, and playing a varsity season in 3 weeks.
• Because of the weather coaches did a creative job of indoor practices.
• Staff worked hard to maintain fields. We had a number of compliments from visiting teams regarding the baseball field. Maintenance worked very hard.
• Both modified teams (baseball & softball) were young and inexperienced. They both grew through the season. Coach Brown and Coach Dwyer were first year coaches and invested themselves greatly into the teams. Hope to have them return next year!
• Golf was a building year as well. Players improved taking 7-10 strokes off their game.  Coach Seamans does an awesome job with the team as he disciples them in Golf. Joe has done a great job as CCL Golf Coordinator.
• Varsity Softball started with a number of girls lacking skills which they built on through the shortened season. Jade VanWagenen and Emily Fish put on a “hitting clinic”. Emily finished with 3 homeruns and Jade with 4, the last one being a grand slam!
• Varsity Baseball was a team that would never give up! They played their hearts out, and finished the season with 2 sectional games, the second one here at home. Shawn May, with his 20-plus years of coaching baseball brought so much to both boys’ teams. I look forward to his participation again next year.