Parents, Officials Commit to New High School Sports Initiative

The sports program is about to get a much needed boost.

Inspired by the need to raise money and , a 26-person committee, led by high school principal Ted Barone and incoming athletic director Andrew Strawbridge, met Monday night to lay the groundwork for the 2011-12 school year. 

The committee, Promoting Albany High Sports, acknowledged that it has quite a task ahead. 

“We wanted a fresh start with new ideas and a new purpose,” Barone said. “We are starting a new era with new spirit around athletics.” 

The goal behind the group is two-fold.

It has to come up with ways to raise money, via fundraisers and donations, to help cover the cost it takes to run all 22 of the school's sporting teams. It also wants to build an interest in schools sports, over the years.

“We have to raise about $85,000-$95,000 by next year so as not to lose any sports,” Barone said. “Prior to last year, paid for sports but, due to cutbacks, they only pay for the coaches now.”

The amount the district paid the school for the 2010-11 year was $99,000, which covered only the coaches' salaries. Many fear that, next year, that amount will be cut by as much as 10 percent.

Building the rest of the sports budget is the main goal of the group. The biggest tool for doing this is raising money. Last year’s brought in just over $34,000, and athlete donations accounted for over $34,500.

These donations were given by athletes' families to help offset the costs for such items as uniforms, equipment, travel and officials.

Keeping sports in line with Title IX, a sports equity law that equalizes the amount of money for male and female teams, is also a concern.

While the donations are requested, the school cannot force each family to pay, thus creating the need to continue to look for more ways to bring in money.

If enough cash is not raised by the start of next year, some sports may suffer cutbacks or could be cut altogether, according to Barone.

The new committee is made up of parent liaisons from each sport. Parents will work directly with Barone and Strawbridge to try to bring in the much-needed dollars.

A big concern, raised by some in attendance at the March 28 meeting, involved the lack of support teams have while playing home games. That will be handled by a subcommittee, but seemed to be of the utmost importance to many parents Monday. 

One of those parents, newly elected committee president Sarah Whitmer, expressed a desire to start having pep rallies to get more students to attend the games. Her plan also includes raising awareness in the community by posting team schedules up and down Solano Avenue.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give editor Emilie Raguso a ring at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.

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