February 2015 Athle c Newsle er
Aus n Independent School District Na onal Signing Day INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Na onal Signing Day McDonalds All American Central Texas Football Showcase Middle School Highlights Student Coach Raises $87,000 Volume 1 Issue 6 Athletic Newsletter
National Signing Day
Na onal signing day just passed and many athletes in Aus n ISD par cipated during the February signing and in the previous signing in November. These athletes are excited about the opportunity to con nue playing the sport they love in college. High School Athlete Omar Bailey Akins Anderson Kennedy Harris Gavin Graham Hoanh Le Lela McIntosh Page 2
Sport Football College West Texas A & M Basketball Stephen F. Aus n Football Air Force Tennis Schreiner Volleyball Mercer Alexus Mar nez Dariann Resendez Vanessa Castro Nick Perez Kristal Requejo Madison Tumicki Finn Hockey Ian O'Brien Grayson Olguin Andy Day Lydia Baxter Kellen Dunn So ball Cal State University Stanislaus So ball McClennan Junior College So ball McClennan Junior College Baseball Texas State So ball Coastal Bend Junior College Soccer St. Edward's Soccer Slippery Rock Football Millsaps College Football Howard Payne University Football Texas Lutheran Basketball Sam Houston State Volleyball Central Arkansas Connor Flanigan Preston Wheeler Paige Meyer Football Football Soccer Angelo State University Texas A&M Commerce St. Mary's Crocke Jus n Miller Football Abilene Chris an LBJ McCallum Travis Robert Sa erwhite Annie Murphy Zae Giles Avery Jackson Football So ball Football Football Football Football Navarro Aus n Bowie Sabian Cannon Eric Strait Amherst Lamar University of Texas San Antonio Midwestern State Cisco Junior College Athletic Newsletter
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Anderson Senior Nominated for McDonald’s All-American Award
Anderson’s amazing Guard Kennedy Harris was named a McDonalds All‐American Nominee. We recently took a moment to the catch up with the Lady Trojan phenom. Photo Credit: Jaime Harris My goals this
season are just to
be the best
teammate I can
possibly be, try to
embrace the
leadership role, and
never give up no
ma er the
situa on.
How long have you been
playing basketball? I started playing basketball in the first grade at the age of 6. My mom was surprised that I even knew what basketball was. I actually cried on my first day of try outs and my mom and aunt had to con‐
vince me to follow through. Thank goodness they did. What mo vates or drives you
as an athlete? I am a very compe ve person on and oﬀ the court but I aspire to be the best person I can be, whether that means failure or success. As long as I grow and learn from that experience, I look towards the next challenge. What are your Goals for this
season? My goals this season are just to be the best team‐
mate I can possibly be, try to embrace the leadership role, and never give up no ma er the situa on. How have you grown from
your freshman year? I have grown a lot, I can truly say that I have matured on and oﬀ the court. Whether taking prac ce more seriously or grades. I've go en be er at understanding perseverance and what it actually means, and not always let the situa‐
on get the best of me. I am a very passionate person and try to give 100 percent at all mes and I have learned to channel that intensity posi‐
vely. But the most important thing that have grown to real‐
ize is that losing isn't always a representa on of failure and that you can always gain something from it. When you are capable of learning, you are capable of moving for‐
ward and becoming be er. What was your greatest game
ever? My greatest game in my opinion was actually this year against Akins. I scored 31 points, 21 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover. What posi on do you play
and how tall are you? Guard & 5'7”. How are you able to average
11 rebounds per game at
your height? I think rebound‐
ing the way I have this year is mainly because of compe ‐
veness/ heart. I don't want the other team to get a sec‐
ond shot opportunity or I want to give us another chance to score. People don't expect someone of my height to be as physical and willing to go in the paint as o en as I do. But I love to rebound be‐
cause to me it is the most aggressive part of basketball. With losing two 6 footers last year who led us in rebounds since I have been here, I knew that I was going to have step up and play more forward like posi on on defense and some mes on oﬀense. Who's your favorite NBA/
WNBA star? Kevin Durant If you could meet any NBA/
WNBA player in the history of
the world, who would it be
and why? JJ Reddick because when he was at Duke he was the reason I became number four. Kevin Durant because I love the way he plays the game and intensity he plays with especially a er his MVP acceptance speech, it truly showed how genuine of per‐
son he is on and oﬀ the court. He has very admirable quali‐
es and he can shoot lights out. Favorite Pro team? NFL; Wherever Peyton Manning is and NBA; wherever Kevin Du‐
rant is. Do you listen to any music
that gets your hyped before
your games? No not really actually. I guess it is weird, I like quietness before a game. I like to visualize the game and what I want to do when game me rolls around. Favorite Subject in
school? Anatomy Favorite Movie? Remember the Titans and Mean girls to name a couple Favorite Musician? Drake, The Beatles, Blink 182, Asap Rocky and tons of others You have signed With Ste‐
phen F. Aus n. Do you know
what you want to major in
yet? Pre‐med Athletic Newsletter
Page 4
District Swim Meet
Our 5A and 6A Districts par cipated in the 14‐6A and 26‐5A swim meet with amazing results. Every AISD team that par cipated advanced athletes and relay teams to Regionals including LBJ who qualified all 40 par cipa ng athletes and all relay teams. Both 5A and 6A regional meets begin on February 6th with the 5A meet in College Sta on and the 6A meet in Conroe. District Swim Meet Individuals that Advanced Relays that Advanced Anderson 14 5 Aus n 18 6 Ann Richards 4 3 Bowie 24 6 LBJ 40 6 McCallum 18 6 O’Henry’s Boys Basketball 7th A team recently won the advanced all 40
par cipa ng
Middle School Highlights
Across the District our middle school campuses are in the heart of the winter sports season. We love to highlight any accomplishments of our younger athletes. Here are just a few things from around the city. LBJ swimming
athletes and all
Pflugerville DQ Classic Basketball Tournament. The Mustangs were a perfect four and zero; defea ng Ridgeview 43‐41, Park Crest 52‐30, Murchison 61‐48 and Pflugerville 45‐30. Lamar's 8th grade boys Basketball team took 2nd place in the Gus Garcia Invita onal BB Tournament. Paredes is hos ng a boys basketball tournament that includes fellow middle schools Covington, Garcia, Dobie, Mendez & Mar n. The bracket with info and mes can be found at : relay teams to
the State
Regional Meet.
h p:// nyurl.com/qhj9pqs Partnership with UT—Center for sports leadership and innova on.
AISD Athle cs is all about “Teaching More than the Game,” so we were excited when hearing that the University of Texas was launching a Center for Sports Leadership and Innova on Daron Roberts is the new founding director for the center and is a former NFL, College, and High School Coach. He also holds a law degree from Harvard University and is the former student body president at UT. We recently got to sit down and discover the vision of the UT Center. The University of Texas is working to create a cer fica on for coaches that will help them teach character and leadership to their student athletes. Aus n ISD is partnering to help facilitate the workshop and to have a Leadership Summit for the captains of each sport in each AISD school. It will be a great resource to our student athletes and a way to help facilitate conversa on and change amongst our youth. Be on the lookout for more informa on coming soon. Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 5
Austin High Student Coach Raises $87,000
Aus n High Student Coach Archer Hadley has cerebral palsy. But he has never let that hold him back. He has helped the Aus n High football team during the past four years as a student assistant coach. Archer uses a motorized wheelchair to get around campus but one day got stuck in the rain because no one was there to open a door for him. A er some ini al frustra ons and some encouragement from his mom, Archer decided to raise the money needed to install automa c push bu on doors. He combines the dona ons with a brilliant idea. People at Aus n High that donated $20 would spend a day in a wheelchair just like he does every day. he said that his campaign wouldn’t be complete unless he got Governor Abbo to join him in the ribbon cu ng ceremony. Governor Abbo is the first disabled governor in Texas history so it was amazing that he got to A er the first day he raised par cipate as well. $8,000 and at the last tally raised $87,000 to install AISD athle cs is proud of automa c entry bu ons students like Archer on every entrance and exit Hadley who make our to the school. He also district what it is today. raised money to widen and redo the ramps that were cracked or broken. Finally, Please see the
last page for Job
openings within
the Athletic
Department.
Central Texas Football Showcase
On February 28, 2015, AISD is pu ng on a Central Texas Football Showcase for all Seniors in the Central Texas area. College coaches from around the country will gather at Nelson Field at 1:00 pm to give athletes a second shot at being recruited to play college football. This event is only open to Seniors. Na onal Signing day for football was February 4th, 2015 and many of our area athletes signed a Na onal Le er of Intent to play college football on various Levels from Division 1 to NAIA. For those athletes that do not have this opportunity we have invited coaches from DII, DIII, NAIA, and Junior Colleges to see these athletes in ac on. Interested Seniors need to go to h p://goo.gl/forms/
rsNwQf9nT4 and fill out the short ques onnaire. If you need further informa on please contact Contact: Andrew Jackson (214) 929‐5705 Odis Jones (512) 939‐5056 Darrell Crayton (512) 414‐
5841 Athletic Newsletter
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Austin ISD is here to serve you. Founded in 1881, AISD serves over 85,000 students in the Austin Area.
The overall AISD Vision is to be nationally recognized as an outstanding school district, instilling a passion for life-long learning in all students.
Austin Independent School District Vision
Our vision within Athletics is to instill a passion for lifelong learning in all Student-Athletes through the
development of the athletic programs at the High School, Middle School, and Elementary level.
AISD Athle c
Oﬃce Burger Stadium 3200 Jones Rd Aus n, TX 78745 Mission
Our mission is to create an environment that fosters mutual respect, integrity, quality, and a commitment to excellence, through competitive athletics that instill the lifelong values of teamwork, leadership, and sportsmanship in the Student-Athlete so that they may be productive members of society.
Phone: (512)414‐1050 Fax: (512) 414‐0469 Email: aisdathle cs@aus nisd.org WWW.AUSTINISD.
ORG/ATHLETICS
Job Openings
AISD Athle cs needs bus drivers and grounds equipment operators. Please apply using the address’ below. Thank you for your support! h p:// nyurl.com/Athle cDrivers h p:// nyurl.com/AISDGround Athle c Department Staﬀ
Leal Anderson Athle c Director Mike Szymarek Asst Athle c Director Lynn Pool Asst Athle c Director Mary Adams Athle c Secretary Teaching More
than the Game
Denise Vanlandingham Area Athle c Coordinator Purchasing, Heath & Safety Ines Perez Swimming, Tennis David Seaborn Facili es Coordinator Delco Center Kevin Shevlin Scheduling Lou Mora Area Athle c Coordinator Cross Country, Golf, Track Wade Johnston Middle School Coordinator Shalanda Byers Special Olympics Coordinator Albert Chapa Special Olympics Keivon Liburd Area Athle c Coordinator Communica ons & Public Rela ons Brenda Niles Accoun ng, Tickets, and Game Help Irene Fabian Security & Oﬃcials