A refresher about Division I men’s basketball recruiting …

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) announces its first ever Mental Health Awareness Week will take place Monday, April 29 through Friday, May 3, 2019. Mental Health Awareness Week was created by the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) established a Mental Health Awareness Week after discussing numerous issues surrounding the topic they face with peers. According to the Mental Health Association of New York State, one in five children between the ages of 13-18 have, or will have, a serious mental health condition. Also, most early signs of mental illness are mistaken for normal adolescent development.

Mental Health Awareness Week is designed to encourage schools to provide training to non-healthcare professionals such as coaches and athletic directors as well as fellow students to help them identify signs and symptoms of mental illness and provide resources to those who need them. SAAC members are planning to attend Section Athletic Council meetings around the state as well as Athletic Director meetings to present material on the mental health crisis to promote NYSPHSAA Mental Health Awareness week. The Association’s initiative will utilize the NFHS Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Course to supplement its campaign.

“We are extremely proud of the members of the NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for designing a Mental Health Awareness Week,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “These student-athletes have identified this as a problem in their schools and have come up with a way to help their friends and classmates. We are well aware of the issues with mental health in our society today and applaud the SAAC for trying to help with this major dilemma.”

A social media campaign will be designed for Mental Health Awareness Week with different themes utilized each day. Some of the topics include how to deal with stress, recognizing signs and symptoms, and how to break the stigma associated with mental health. Schools can easily participate by following the NYSPHSAA on social media and utilizing a tool kit produced by the Association.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) announces the 2019 winter Scholar-Athlete teams and number of Scholar-Athlete individuals per school.

A total of 633 NYSPHSAA member schools submitted Scholar-Athlete information this season. To qualify as a Scholar-Athlete team, 75% of the team roster’s averaged GPA must be 90.0 or above. This winter, 2,616 teams earned the Scholar-Athlete team award. The number of Scholar-Athlete teams increased by 10.1% compared to the winter of 2018.

To be named a Scholar-Athlete individual, a student must earn an individual GPA of 90.0 or above regardless of their team earning Scholar-Athlete team status. A record-high 33,275 students achieved this milestone in the winter. This year, the number of Scholar-Athlete individual winners increased by 7.09% compared to the winter 2018 season.

“The Scholar-Athlete program is our most successful student program,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “The continued increase shows the dedication schools, athletic departments, teams, coaches, and most importantly, student-athletes have towards academics. We could not be more proud to recognize these hard-working teams and individuals that are committed to their education.”

The list of Scholar-Athlete teams for the winter 2019 season can be found here.

The list of the number of Scholar-Athlete individuals per school for the winter 2019 season can be found here.

Rocky Point High School girls basketball program recently received recognition by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for their fundraising efforts.

The varsity and JV teams raised $1,400 during their campaign, which concluded on the last game of the year and the team’s senior night. Each member of the team had supporters donate money and sign their pink fundraising T-shirts, which were worn as warm ups at the last game. A bake sale with goods made by team members also brought in funds during half time.

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A number of athletic directors from Suffolk County attended the Brain Injury Awareness Celebrity Sports Forum  at the Fox Hollow CC on Wednesday. Head injury prevention is paramount for our student-athletes.

Amityville’s athletic department put together its first Girls and Women in Sports Day event and it was a major success.

Close to 100 female student-athletes from the district joined together for this inaugural event which allowed for outpouring of love and appreciation for their coaches, programs and athletes.

Great job, Amityville!

Jim Wright, Athletic Director in South Huntington Schools, presented at this year’s New York State Athletic Administrator Association conference!

His presentation was on leadership.

Congrats to our very own Nick DeCillis on being inducted to the NYS Athletic Administrator Association Hall of Fame!