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Athletic Director's Corner

Pete Blieberg: Being an athletic director, single best job in Suffolk

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By Pete Blieberg

For the past 25 years, I have had the privilege to hold the single best job in Suffolk County. Being an athletic director is truly a blessing. This wasn’t my ultimate goal, as I always wanted to be a high school physical education teacher and head football coach.

Pete Blieberg, Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education for the Sachem Central School District.
Pete Blieberg, Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education for the Sachem Central School District.

That dream became a reality when I left Sachem after five years as a physical education teacher and freshman football and lacrosse coach and moved over to Kings Park where I served as the head football coach and a physical education teacher for the next five years. But then life got in the way.

I was excessed from my teaching job to half a position and, luckily, I was fortunate enough to receive a waiver from the state, become the athletic director there while I completed my administrative degree and, as they say, the rest is history.

What most people don’t know about the job is actually what we do; let me try to explain.

During the school day hours, our responsibilities, which vary from district to district, and include but are not limited to, working with K-12 physical education and health teachers, overseeing the school nurses and working closely with school secretaries, custodians and grounds crews to prepare for the interscholastic day ahead.

When most people’s work days end, the second half of our job begins. We are out watching practices and games, checking to ensure that all fields are properly set up, chaperones are in place and timers and scorers are where they need to be. I would be lying if I said that it’s the athletic director that arranges all of this, in each and every case, it’s the athletic office staff that does the majority of the leg work making sure buses are scheduled and on time, as well as school and grounds staff are communicated with every day to ensure a smooth transition from school day to interscholastic athletic day. One only needs to shadow an athletic office on a rainy fall or spring day to see the value and worth of these outstanding ladies that are truly the MVP’s of any (and all) athletic departments.

Probably the greatest part of our jobs is getting to watch our student-athletes perform and represent our school districts and communities. It is here, long after the general population has gone home for the day that the relationships are forged between the AD’s and coaches, the student-athletes and their parents. This is by far the most rewarding aspect of our jobs.

Looking back I have been extremely fortunate to be associated with numerous championship teams. When I was the AD at East Islip, the football team won the schools only Long Island championship, and my youngest son, Alec, was a wide receiver on that team, which made it extra special. It was a wonderful thrill as an AD and a dad!

At Sachem, we’ve crowned numerous state and national champions but when the Sachem East field hockey team won its first state title, and Sachem North football won the Long Island championship, those were two of the biggest highlights of my career.

Another perk that we have, that other school administrators don’t enjoy, is that every three months or so we start a new season, with new faces, teams and fun, complete with fresh expectations. This is what has kept me engaged and focused over a 25-year career as an AD (35 total in education).

Being able to sprinkle in special events such as welcoming back alumni and championship teams from years gone by, hosting athletic hall of fame ceremonies and maintaining the history of our programs allows the current student-athletes and coaches to take pride in the programs they are involved in and helps to keep strong traditions intact.

As in most things, the first ones are the best; at Kings Park we held a full contact alumni football game that attracted one of the largest crowds ever seen at the school. But in all fairness, I’d have to say bringing back the 1986 Rutgers Trophy team at Sachem was the best. First, because of the lifelong admiration I personally have for former Coach Fred Fusaro, and, secondly, because I actually coached a number of those players when they came though the freshman program during my first run here. Moments like this have truly been special.

I couldn’t think of a more rewarding job then to be an athletic director!

Pete Blieberg is the Director of Athletics, Health and Physical Education for the Sachem Central School District. He has served in similar roles in both East Islip and Kings Park. Blieberg is also the game coordinator of the Empire Challenge all-star football game, founded by the Boomer Esiason Foundation and played to raise funds and awareness in the fight against cystic fibrosis.

The Executive Director's Desk

From the Executive Director’s Desk #3

Published April 14, 2016

Section XI is special is so many ways. One of the things which creates this special feeling is the variety within our member schools. Suffolk County measures 86 miles long and 26 miles wide making it the second largest in New York State. Our 61 member high schools vary in enrollment from Brentwood High School with 4,400-plus to the 35 students at Bridgehampton High School. With this variety comes a host of challenges.
Not the least is creating fair and equitable competition amongst the schools while being conscious of the geographic location and travel time for each. I find it hard to believe that there is another section in the state with such diversity. It is always a goal of our sports chairmen to develop leagues, conferences or divisions that best reflect the competitive balance for our student-athletes while still being sensitive to the amount of time that they spend on a bus getting to the sports venue. It is not an easy task. I can’t thank them enough for their efforts, vision and commitment.

Athletic directors spend a great deal of time weighing the options and trying to make decisions that they think are best for the entire section. It may not always be the best scenario for their own district but that is often put aside for the good of the order. The big picture becomes the focus for each of them. For this they are to be commended.

This is never more evident than it is during the playoffs. Big school, small school, north shore, south shore, Class AA or Class D, once the playoffs roll around we are all one and we go out of our way to cheer on and support our member schools and student-athletes as they pursue their goal of a New York State championship. It is a pleasure to observe and be a part of this special section.

After all we are the Section XI family.

Don Webster
Executive Director
Section XI

The Executive Director's Desk

From the Executive Director’s Desk #2

Published, 3/24/16

I have just returned from Saratoga Springs where I had the opportunity and pleasure of attending the annual New York State Athletic Administrators Association Conference.

This year’s conference was especially gratifying and enjoyable due to the involvement of the athletic directors from Section XI. Dr. Jim Wright, Walt Whitman High School Director of Athletics, spent the past year serving the Association as its President providing the leadership needed to drive the goals, objectives and professional development of its members. The culmination of his year is the overseeing of the annual conference. This year Jim’s theme was “Produce great men and women…the rest follows- Walt Whitman”.

Once again Section XI athletic directors rose to the occasion and worked with Jim to put together a conference that I think really reflected the theme chosen. Special kudos go out to Tim Mullins, Georgia McCarthy, Joe Mercado, Deb Ferry, Lou Howard and Todd Gulluscio for their leadership and so many other athletic directors who served as presenters, presiders and volunteers. Their efforts provided a positive and enjoyable educational conference for the 500-plus athletic directors from around New York State. Their commitment and dedication to the student-athletes and athletic programs of our great state never ceases to amaze me.

Special congratulations go to Amy Agnesini, Rocky Point Director of Athletics for receiving the Chapter 11 Athletic Administrator Award and to Deb Ferry, Half Hollow Hills Director of Athletics, for being awarded the NYSAAA Apple Award. Both well deserved.

Once again congratulations and many thanks to the athletic directors of Section XI for stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run. It is my pleasure and an honor to have the opportunity to work with you all on a daily basis. You are the ones that make Section XI so great.

Don Webster
Executive Director
Section XI

The Executive Director's Desk

From the Executive Director’s Desk #1

Published, 3/8/16 (inaugural column)

As the Executive Director of Section XI it is my pleasure to add an occasional column to our website and social pages that I hope will not only share some of my thoughts but will give you greater insight into some of the great things happening in Suffolk County athletics.

We are extremely excited about the direction that our website is taking. It is our goal to highlight the accomplishments of the 83,000-plus student-athletes that represent our 62 member school districts. Through our website and social media pages we are able to better bring you news, insights and current events as soon as they happen. I hope you are enjoying our new endeavors and welcome your feedback.

Section XI has embarked on two major projects that will commence this spring and become part of our athletic fabric. One is the highlighting, promotion and implementation of programs that will reinforce our goal of appropriate sportsmanship at all levels in all of our sports. It would be our hope that we remind everyone that athletics is as much a part of the educational experience as is any other subject. Often times I think we let winning get in the way of the basic principles that we hope to have athletics accomplish. Our Sportsmanship Committee will be putting in place a program to better educate our schools about good sportsmanship and identify and reward those districts that have made it a priority. I encourage you to keep your eyes open as we roll these programs out.

The second program is the “Tommy Tough” Football Safety Standards. Working with the Cutinella family and supporting their vision of a safer game of football we will honor Tommy by implementing rules, regulations, programs and policies designed to protect the integrity of this great game. A series of meetings with all of the stakeholders, coaches, athletic directors, officials and parents have already taken place and we are in the process of making the vision a reality. I think this will be a huge step forward for the game of football.

These are merely two examples of some of the exciting things we have going on in Suffolk County athletics. I encourage you all to be a regular visitor to our website so that you too can be a part of the greatest section in New York State.

Don Webster
Executive Director
Section XI