The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is hosting its first-ever in-person Student Leadership Conference on Thursday, March 30^th at the Hilton in Albany.  As the association celebrates its Centennial, student-athletes from member schools will have an opportunity to attend the first formal leadership gathering.

Current sophomores and juniors will have the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills by listening to presentations from a variety of speakers and participating in workshops to help positively influence their teams, athletic departments, schools, and communities.

“This is an incredible opportunity we are excited to offer to our member student-athletes for the first time ever,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, Executive Director.  “Nearly 170 students are attending this conference. The workshops along with the well-reputed speakers will give students the opportunity to get in-person training and development.”

The conference kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with a keynote by Missy West, a NYSPHSAA Hall of Famer and Co-Founder of ORCA Leadership. Breakout sessions will follow, then a lunch break. The afternoon session will be highlighted by another keynote speaker, Stephanie Marquesano, Founder and President of the harris project. Other presentations will be made on College and Career Readiness by Omari Pearson of Passion to Purpose in addition to Fuel Your Game: A Winning Nutrition Plan by Christina D’Amico of Christina D’Amico Nutrition. Workshop sessions include Name, Image and Likeness with Tyler Langford from Eccker Sports and Characteristics of Servant Leadership discussions from the New York Army National Guard.

“I am excited to meet people from around the state while also learning more ways to improve my leadership skills,” said Gianna Horen, NYSPHSAA SAAC Leader (Section VIII). “I think this will be a great benefit to all of the student-athletes attending and really look forward to hearing what the professionals will share with us that day.”

Interested students completed an online survey that was shared with athletic directors. Each section then determined its representatives using the survey, resulting in 170 high school student-athletes from across the state.

“This is a program we have been focused on developing for several years,” said Kristen Jadin, NYSPHSAA Assistant Director who is spearheading the planning of the conference. “We are a student-based organization and what better way to develop students than to have an in-person conference with outstanding speakers who can share their expertise.”

The idea of the conference was developed by the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Development Committee (SADC) several years ago with input from the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Behavior at high school athletic events has gotten OUT OF CONTROL.

When did this become normal?

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Let’s come together to #BenchBadBehavior!

Congratulations to Chris Agostino and Carl Johnson on their recent inductions into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.

Agostino has led his teams to an average of 14 wins each season resulting in a 67% winning percentage. His teams have earned County and Long Island titles. They also reached the very top, winning a NYSPHSAA and NYS Federation state crowns. Coach Agostino was honored with Coach of the Year at league, county and state levels. He was also recognized by the media for his successful work.

Johnson led Bridgehampton HS to over 300 wins in 27 years, winning 60% of their games. He steered his teams to 13 league titles and 11 Section XI championships. His teams captured 4 NYSPHSAA state titles. He was named Coach of the Year numerous times at the league and sectional levels.

Now that the spring sports season is heating up, you’ll want to check the NFHS Network site to see if games in your local area are being streamed.

All games are listed here.

Team Up For Community is challenging our L.I. Athletes to be Sports Heroes to a cause or someone in need this 2023 Spring Season. Let’s see how big of an IMPACT we can make together in our L.I. Communities!

All those who enter have a chance to receive a scholarship or grant.

$5,000 in Scholarships & Grants will be awarded!

First Place Winner receives a $3,000 scholarship or grant.
Second Place Winner receives a $1,500 scholarship or grant.
Third Place Winner receives a $500 scholarship or grant.

CLICK TO ENTER AND LEARN MORE! 

Former longtime South Huntington Athletic Director Dr. Jim Wright was inducted into the New York State Athletic Administrators Hall of Fame during the organization’s annual conference in Saratoga.

Dr. Wright has been a member of the NIAAA and NYSAAA for 20 years.

For Section XI, he is a past Conference 1 president and served on seeding, finance, and policy committees while chairing girls Cross Country, Fencing, and Softball. He is now the NYSPHSAA chair for Softball and represented the NYSAAA on two NYSPHSAA Strategic Plans.

He has been a leader in professional development both in New York State and nationally.

Section XI Athletic Director of the year Kathy Masterson with some of her colleagues at the NYSAAA conference.

The conference was lead by President Todd Gulluscio of Shelter Island and the ADs of Section XI.

Congratulations to three former Section XI athletic directors on being named to the NYS Athletic Administrators Association Wall of Honor. They were recognized at a ceremony in Saratoga on March 14.

Honorees included  Kathly Cooney, who worked at Hauppauge and Southampton, John DeLuca, who worked at Longwood and Walt Whitman, and Tom Sabatelle, who worked at Sachem.

All three left legacies in their school community and impacted the lives of thousands of students-athletes and hundreds of coaches.

Good Luck to Todd Gulluscio, President of New York State Athletic Administrators Association, as he guides the conference attendees on professional development that will prepare them to “Be The Leader!”