The first in a series by Cliff Lewis

According to Jon Mitchell, athletic director for the School District of Lancaster (SD of L), McCaskey High School’s athletic program is well on its way to becoming a competitive force in the region. Mitchell observed that school’s seven fall programs have already shown improved performance and morale.

Mitchell noted the following achievements in a recent NewsLanc interview:

• The boys’ soccer team currently holds a 5-1 record, a reversal of the team’s 2008 performance. Mitchell credits recent training programs by OneOnOne Soccer of Lancaster as well as the team’s general maturation for the jump in performance.
• The boys’ cross country team holds a 7-1 record, with their single loss owing to a razor-thin 28-27 defeat from Lancaster Mennonite.
• The girls’ field hockey team has tied one game and lost the other to Penn Manor High School, which, according to Mitchell, is known to be a dominant force statewide.

This month marks the beginning of Mitchell’s first full school year as the District’s athletic director. Since taking on the role in January, his most prominent task has been the search for a new head football coach. In May it was announced that David Given, formerly of Tuscan, Arizona, was hired to fill the role. According to Mitchell, the District was especially attracted to Given for his propensity toward “public image and understanding what we need to do to change some of the beliefs and attitudes of people about our program.”

Thus far, the football team has lost its first three games. The slow beginning owes partly to an unanticipated academic probation for nine athletes—at least four of whom, Mitchell said, were starting players. Yet bystanders have noted an improved spirit and greater discipline.

To promote better academic performance among all of the athletes, academic tutoring services are now available prior to the school day, rather than forcing students to choose between tutoring and after school practice. Also, Mitchell has been emphasizing excellence over mere eligibility:

“Eligibility is for losers who just want to know ‘how much can I fail?,” he asserted. “We need to change that attitude and the culture of who we are, so that we only do our best.”

Mitchell believes a stronger athletic program will only improve student life if that program instills the ethical values that life demands. Citing a national survey of 25,000 student athletes that showed a below-average ‘moral reasoning,’ Mitchell asserted, “We do not inherently learn those things from athletics. Rather, we learn those things from athletics when we have moral, ethical coaches who use that sport to teach it.”

Staff members, as well, have been held to higher expectations. “I am not afraid to hold people accountable,” Mitchell said in reference to the District’s athletic staff.  He also observed that these new standards may have partly contributed to an increased amount of staff turnover in the last year. “I think the other thing,” Mitchell qualified, “is that it’s just natural for an organization, when you see leadership change, to see a change in personnel.” Lately, a large portion of Mitchell’s time has been committed to recruiting new coaches and their assistants.

Considering Mitchell’s spirit of principled urgency and the jump in fall athletic performance, it seems clear that this changing of the guard has marked a new chapter for SD of L sports.