Tag Archives: featured

Section XI News

Recap: 2nd NYSPHSAA COVID-19 Task Force Meeting

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) held the second meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force on Tuesday, June 30.

Representatives from the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) provided updates pertaining to the COVID-19 crisis. The Task Force then discussed the Governor’s reopening plan and its impact upon interscholastic athletics.

The Task Force discussed Governor’s reopening plan and its impact upon interscholastic athletics. At this time, schools are still prohibited from any indoor activities, any in-person instruction (excluding special education), and any organized sports or recreational activities that are hosted/operated.

The NYSPHSAA Task Force reviewed six potential return to school scenarios, including a full return to school, a hybrid education model, a full virtual learning model, and regional differences model. Proposals to address the scenarios reviewed included a full return to athletic participation, potential adjustments of seasons, and/or condensing all three seasons. The Task Force reviewed proposals to address each scenario. The proposals include a full return to athletic participation, potential adjustment of seasons and/ or condensing seasons. The Task Force is finalizing the proposals and plans to release the document to the NYSPHSAA membership by the end of the week in an effort to gather feedback.

The meeting concluded with a presentation of the EzSCRN Application from Paul Bailey, President of Total Concussion Management. The EzSCRN Application, which provides a unique online tool for schools to utilize if screening is part of their reopening plan, would allow a school or team to easily screen students and immediately notify school administrators and health care officials of any students who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. The Task Force plans to continue discussion about this application at their next meeting.

A full report, including meeting report, will be released later this week. The next meeting of the COVID- 19 Task Force has not yet been announced.

Section XI News

Next NYSPHSAA COVID-19 Task Force Set Meeting Set for June 30

The next NYSPHSAA COVID-19 Task Force meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 30.

On Twitter, NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas said the task force is, “working on several contingency plans this weekend in an effort to prepare for the many ‘what if’ scenarios. May have to get creative. Student engagement and participation must be our focus! Stay safe and positive!”

 

Section XI News

Sachem North Volleyball Named TU4C Service Champion

Team Up 4 Community and Section XI are proud to announce Sachem North High School Boys Volleyball as the 2019- 2020 Section XI Community Service Champions. They were selected by Section XI from the entries submitted into the 2019- 2020 NYSPHSAA Community Service Challenge.

Team Up 4 Community has partnered with the NYSPHSAA for the past two years to encourage Youth Athletes to give back to their communities through the NYSPHSAA Community Service Challenge! The Team Up 4 Community portal provides schools, athletes and teams the opportunity to showcase community service projects which ultimately fosters young peoples’ sense of civic engagement and community thus helping them achieve their educational, developmental and social goals. 

“Community Service is an integral part of the Interscholastic Athletic experience. Through community service, student-athletes, coaches, and administrators are able to give back to the communities that support them each and every day!”- NYSPHSAA.org

Sachem North Boys Volleyball hosted a number of events for their coach, teacher and alumnus Matt “Dezy” DiStefano. Last February DiStefano was diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer and the community outpouring of support for him and his family has been incredible.

He decided to channel that support into a Foundation that would help others who are battling cancer. The Dezy Strong Foundation was created in the Fall of 2019. The organization’s initiative has been to promote Dezy Strong games to raise awareness and support for the organization, which spreads positivity to other suffering from horrible diseases and circumstances. All Suffolk County high school boys and girls teams are participating as well as collegiate women’s teams such as Hofstra, UNC, Duke, Oregon. In addition, Division I mens teams Pepperdine and UCLA also participated. More information for the organization can be found on their website: www.dezystrong.org.

Sachem North Boys Volleyball hosted a number of events for the Dezy Strong Foundation this year, the largest of which was their Dezy Strong Game on September 3 that raised $4,200. The players also worked to support various games around Long Island and sold Dezy Strong Gear throughout the community raising an additional $2,000. The team competed in a #WeGetTo Swim Contest with the Sachem North Girls Swimming team which raised over $500 for the cause.

The teams efforts are a wonderful tribute to the message of the Foundation that “Every day is a chance to give yourself to someone or something in a positive way. “ – DEZYSTRONG.ORG

Dezy Strong Foundation Founder Matt DiStefano passed away in January of this year. His spirit, strength, and message will continue to make an impact across communities on Long Island and nationwide.

Section XI News

Islip Teacher Gets National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Nod

Laura Harmon Schuman has been selected for induction into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2020.

While not a Long Island native, she is a teacher and coach in the Islip School District and we love that Section XI connection.

The following is from Maryland’s Athletics page:

  • Harmon Schuman was a three-time All-American for the Terps who helped lead Maryland to the 1992 and 1995 National Championships.
  • The midfielder ended her Maryland career ranked fourth all-time with 150 goals and sixth all-time with 184 points, both marks which still stand top-20 to this day.
  • As a captain on Maryland’s 1995 championship team, Harmon Schuman scored 38 goals and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
  • The Havertown, Pa. native would go on to play for the US National Team, helping them win the 1997 World Cup and was selected to the ACC 50th Anniversary Lacrosse Team in 2002. Harmon Schuman also played field hockey at Maryland, leading them to the 1993 National Championship. In 2010, Harmon Schuman was inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame.