Every section in the state has its own version of Pittsford, N.Y.
It’s a community too big for one high school and too small for three. Though the quality of education at both schools is vastly above average by any measure, the campuses and the atmospheres there are noticeably different.
Sutherland has a cramped feel to it, tucked into the eastern edge of the village just seconds away from heavily trafficked Monroe Avenue to the north and Jefferson Road to the south.
Mendon, meanwhile, is a newer building situated in wide-open space far down Route 64. It practically screams “uber-suburbia” at passers-by en route to lush subdivisions further down the road.
But there is an undeniable tie beyond the Pittsford name that binds the two schools: the competitive spirit of the sports teams. Put athletes from Mendon and Sutherland together on a single soccer field, basketball court or baseball diamond and it’s the proverbial fight to death.
Think tennis is a non-contact sport? Go check out the shots whizzing by at eye level at the net in a Knights vs. Vikings match.
And that’s just the girls.
So with all that being said, the district received good news recently when the New York State Public High School Athletic Association bestowed its “Sportsmanship School of the Year” award on Pittsford in recognition of an extraordinary annual basketball event known as the Rainbow Classic.
The event, a varsity doubleheader for the boys and girls teams as part of their regular Monroe County League schedule, has raised nearly $200,000 in just eight years on behalf of Golisano Children's Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Last season’s game at UR attracted another sellout and netted $24,950 for charity.
“This is an award that is based on a team effort including coaches, athletes, staff members, parents, administrators, custodial and maintenance staff and community members,” district athletic director Scott Barker said at the recent award presentation.
The Rainbow Classic took root in 2000 when third-grader Katelyn Pasley, 8, a ball girl for Mendon girls soccer, died from leukemia. Four years later, recent Sutherland graduate Ryan McCluski, died from complications from ataxia, a neuromuscular disease.
The two families were acquaintances, and their losses gave momentum to the charitable cause.
Tennis: Saratoga coach earns national honor
Saratoga coach Rich Johns has been named one of two national winners of the United States Tennis Association's No-Cut Starfish Award, it was announced this week as the U.S. Open kicked off in New York.
Johns, an Ithaca native whose teams have rolled up 17 league championships and nine Section II titles, and Angel Martinez of Grapevine (Texas) High were presented their awards at the 39th annual USTA Tennis Teachers Conference.
The award honors coaches who adhere to a no-cut policy for their teams. Through no-cut programs, more than 100,000 student-athletes are given the opportunity to play on a tennis team, the USTA estimates.
Johns previously was named the USTA Eastern Coach of the Year.
Football: Who could have seen this coming?
In 2000, Rondout Valley became the first Section IX team to win a NYSPHSAA football championship.
Flash forward to this last week, when the school district shut down the varsity program because there were not enough players available — despite the fact that Rondout Valley is a Class A football school in terms of enrollment.
"We tried to put it off,” athletic director Michael Kroemer told the Times Herald-Record, "but we had to make a decision to be fair to everybody."
The decision came after the fifth day of practice with the realization that having to forfeit the first two games against Goshen and James I. O'Neill was already all but certain. NYSPHSAA rules require a minimum of 16 eligible players, and only 14 to 20 had attended practice each day since Aug. 17.
And while those numbers might be workable over the whole season for a Class D program or in the short term for a larger school, it's just not safe in Class A. At that level, offensive lines often average well over 240 pounds, making for unsafe wear and tear on a shorthanded team relying on two-way players.
Rondout Valley, with a state enrollment figure of 680 in grades 9-11, will continue to field JV and modified teams this fall. Meanwhile, at least 180 smaller NYSPHSAA schools will be fielding varsity teams beginning this weekend.
Three other schools, all in Class D in Western New York, have had to drop the sport so far this month: Archbishop Walsh in Olean, Brocton and Hinsdale.
At the other extreme, it may be just a matter of time before Brentwood in Section XI loses its status as the largest football program in the NYPHSAA. The Journal News reported that Yonkers officials considered combining the Gorton and Roosevelt programs over the summer after a preliminary proposal at consolidating five high school teams at one was floated and then dismissed.
"If we merged with Roosevelt, we would have immediately been sectional championship contenders," Gorton coach Dan DeMatteo told the newspaper. "The kids wanted it. They embraced the idea. It's too bad it didn't work out."
Gorton is arguably the only school in the district with a stable program. The Wolves went 2-6 in 2008 but had posted five straight winning seasons before that. Meanwhile, Lincoln, Yonkers, Saunders and Roosevelt have all battled low participation recently and Saunders' 5-4 mark in 2001 is the only winning season among the four since 1999.
Gorton and Lincoln are already Class AA schools, and the merger of any two (or more) programs in Yonkers would create another Class AA team.
"My gut feeling is that it's got to happen," DeMatteo said. "Our schools keep getting smaller and numbers are a huge issue already. It has to happen."
Boys basketball: NBA star chips in
Ben Gordon has a $55-million contract with the Detroit Pistons. He also has his priorities in order. The former Mount Vernon standout came home last month as a playground on 8th Avenue was renamed the "Ben Gordon New Life Foundation Playground" after the player and his foundation gave $125,000 to revamp the facility.
"We gutted the whole place out and brought it back to life,'' Rasul Salahuddin, a recreation department official who also played at Mount Vernon, told The Journal News. "Everyone in the community is so joyful, it's changing the dynamics of the neighborhood."
Gordon was also active in fundraising efforts a year ago after voters twice rejected the school budget proposal, forcing funding for sports to be dropped.
Boys lacrosse: New Yorkers lead list of prospects
Shame on you if the news surprises you, but New York has four of the top five prospects in the upcoming senior class, according to Inside Lacrosse.
West Islip attackman Nicky Galasso is rated No. 1, followed by Albany CBA defender Jack Reilly. They've already committed to North Carolina and Johns Hopkins, respectively.
St. Anthony's defender Thomas Schrieber (a Princeton recruit) is rated fourth, and LaFayette attackman Miles Thompson is fifth. Thompson has not announced a college choice yet.
* Carthage attackman/midfielder Thomas Grimm says he has decided already to continue his lacrosse career at Syracuse University in September 2011. Grimm has piled up 158 goals and 146 assists in three seasons, including 111 last spring, putting him within reach of Casey Powell's state-record 553 points. Grimm's brothers Rob and Jamie are expected to play at UMBC next spring.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.
