The end of the spring sports season brings to conclusion another great year of interscholastic athletics in Suffolk County.

We wish to congratulate the 62 member schools, coaches and 85,000-plus student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the athletic venues, classrooms and communities. Your honors, awards and contributions continues to amaze us all. You have left us with so many great memories and we only hope that you will look back on your experiences as fondly as we do.

To the graduating seniors we wish you the best of luck in the next chapter in your lives and thank you for your leadership.  To our returning student-athletes we look forward to a great 2017-2018 and can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

Special thanks goes out to all of the athletic directors in our schools.  It is through their dedication, leadership and commitment that all of this is possible. Kudos to each of them and their office staff for pulling it all together.

I would also like to recognize and thank the Section XI office staff for all that they do behind the scenes. Chris, Beth, Leigh, Carla, Kathy, Lisa, Taryn and Nick work diligently with the member schools, officials/coaches associations and athletic directors to organize and implement 25,000-plus athletic contests per year.   I can’t say enough about their dedication and commitment to their role in the interscholastic process. They are to be commended.

On a personal note I will be retiring from Section XI on June 30.  I have been fortunate to have been a part of this great organization for the past 36 years.  I can’t thank the athletic directors, past and present, for their support, cooperation, assistance and friendship.    It has truly been my honor to have been a part of the best section in New York State.

New Executive Director, Tom Combs, and Assistant Director, Pete Blieberg, are outstanding professionals who will step in and provide great leadership to the section. I wish them the best of luck and hope they enjoy their experiences in the section office as much as I have.

Thank you to everyone who makes Section XI so great!

Much like the saying “it takes a village to raise a child,” it takes special people to make Section XI such a great place for our student-athletes.

The dedication of our coaches, commitment by the athletic administrators, passion of the fans, support of the families and efforts of our student-athletes are all a part of this formula.  While it nearly impossible to single out individuals who have led these efforts there are some that leave lasting impressions.

Section XI recently lost one of those individuals.  Charles McGuckin’s passing this week, while sad, leaves both lasting memories and an appreciation of what Charlie meant to Section XI.

Charlie served as the Director of Athletics for the Half Hollow Hills School District from 1976 to 1988.  Following his work at HHH, Charlie moved on to Section XI and continued to serve the student-athletes of Suffolk County as its Assistant Director from 1988 to 1992.

Cathy Gallagher, the Executive Director for Section XI from 1982 to 2003, said,  “Charlie was a special man! He was a colleague whom I knew as an Athletic Director, Football Chairman, Section XI Board Member, Section XI President and then as the Section XI Assistant Director.  Most importantly, he was my friend.  He was a compassionate human being devoted to his family, friends and football!  We can be proud that he served Section XI so well!”

Longtime Section XI Legal Counsel Kevin Seaman describes Charlie as, “having had all the character, presence, poise and genuineness,” needed to be not only a great person, but a great leader.

Personally, Charlie was a great mentor, role model, colleague and friend.  His efforts to make our Section the best possible were always his priority and the students were always the focus.

Charlie we will miss you!  We thank you for your dedication and commitment and please know that your positive impact and contributions will continue to be felt by the past, present and future student-athletes of Suffolk County.

Our fall season has come to a conclusion and I would like to congratulate all of our student-athletes, coaches and teams on their many achievements and honors at the Suffolk County, Long Island and New York State level.

You have blessed all of us with some outstanding memories and we have enjoyed watching all of our student-athletes represent their schools with such great enthusiasm and passion.  I hope you enjoyed the experience as well.

As we move on to the winter season I want to take this opportunity to remind all players, coaches and fans of the importance of Good Sportsmanship.

Athletics is an important part of the educational experience and we want to all work together to make sure that valuable life lessons are learned.

Whether the lesson is learning to win graciously or learning how to deal with a loss it is imperative that we reinforce the principles in each and show how both will help us grow as individuals.

Good sportsmanship is taught and nurtured through the behaviors and actions of coaches, fans and family.

Please join Section XI as we work to stress the importance of respect for the opponent, officials, fans and game.   Let’s work to make the athletic experience and enjoyable and positive one.

Good luck to the athletes and enjoy the winter season.

Where has the fall sport season gone?  It seems like yesterday we  started practices and yet here we are not only entering the final few weeks of the season but in some cases have already started our post season championships.

We hope that all student-athletes have been enjoying a healthy, enjoyable fall sports season. We want to send our best wishes to all individuals and teams entering the playoffs as they begin the quest for Section XI, Long Island and New York State honors and championships.

Thank you to the parents, guardians, staff and communities for the continued support you give to the student-athletes and trust that you will continue to follow your favorite teams and athletes in the playoffs.  Your enthusiasm, excitement and positive cheering is an integral part of the athletic experience.   We encourage you and hope that it will continue.

Thank you all for making Suffolk County athletics the best in New York State.

GO SECTION XI!

We have now entered the second half of the summer and are busy getting ready for the 2016 fall sports season which begins in a couple of short weeks. I hope that you have had an enjoyable summer and that everyone has gotten in some quality relaxation and family time.

Section XI has been busy during the summer as it prepares for another exciting year in Suffolk County athletics. We have undergone some transition within our office and welcome Taryn Marshall to the Section XI family. Chris McKeveny has stepped into a new role and has taken on the responsibilities previously held by Dee Nebgen who has retired after 17 years at Section XI. We wish all three the best as they move on to new chapters in their professional and personal life. The remainder of the staff continues to be busy, scheduling, assigning officials, billing and putting in place everything that needs to be done to ensure a smooth start on August 15 when varsity and junior varsity football begins practicing.

We would also like to welcome back the athletic directors who tirelessly work to provide their student-athletes with enjoyable, positive and meaningful athletic experiences. We cannot thank you enough for your commitment and dedication to your profession. Special welcome to our new directors. We look forward to your insight, feedback and input. I hope you will find your new roles rewarding and enjoyable. Although you may not hear it as often as you should please know that the impact you will have on so many is appreciated. Without you it doesn’t happen.

Welcome back to all of our student-athletes, coaches and support staff. Please join us in our commitment to continue to make Section XI the best section in New York State.

Enjoy!

Don Webster
Executive Director
Section XI

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