Thursday, June 11th, 2015
St. Marys board may add coaches
By Jared Mauch
ST. MARYS - School officials may add assistant coaches for three high school varsity teams to boost athlete safety.
St. Marys school board members Wednesday night approved a motion to have its athletic committee look into hiring paid assistant coaches for the boys and girls soccer teams and the girls volleyball team.
The junior varsity coaches currently also are assistant coaches for the varsity team but often can't attend those matches when the teams play at different times or locations, board president Brian Little said.
He suggested the athletic committee consider hiring a second assistant coach for the varsity teams to help when injuries such as concussions occur so the head coach can focus on the game.
Boys varsity soccer head coach Dave Ring said injuries are a concern and take time and attention away from the action.
"It's come to the point where I can't do it all. Between the concussions and all the other things going on, it's crazy," Ring said.
Volunteers currently help tend to injuries but Ring said the situation can create liability for the district.
"The trainers aren't always available," he said. "It's great when they're with us at home but I don't always have one on the road."
The four coaches are responsible for more than 80 students for boys and girls soccer teams compared to the four coaches for 22 players on boys and girls basketball teams, Ring said.
He said five Western Buckeye League schools have a second paid assistant coach for these sports and five do not.
The athletic committee also will consider adding a position to handle admission collection at sporting events. The employee would report to athletic director Jim Hollman and collect and track sporting event admissions, Little said.
A third motion by the board will allow the athletic committee to consider replacing a popcorn machine used at the high school and Skip Baughman Stadium. The machine is in disrepair, board member Travis Kuennnig said.
He estimated the machine's original cost was about $4,400.
The school board's athletic committee plans to discuss the three items during an upcoming meeting. No date was set.
Board members also,
• approved the primary, intermediate, middle school and high school student fees for the 2015-16 school year.
• approved the 2015-16 elementary school handbook.
• approved lunch fees for the 2015-16 school year. Prices will mainly remain the same as in 2014-15 year, except a la carte milk will drop from 60 cents to 50 cents.
