August 9th, 2013
Dear SAES Athletes and Parents,
I am very excited for another year of success and progress in athletics at St.
Andrew’s. Last year was truly a banner year for us on the practice and game fields. St.
Andrew’s had 93% of eligible students take part in at least one sport. Several of those
were multi sport athletes. We had 3 teams advance in the playoffs of their respective
sports, one of which played in a down to the wire championship game. We were able to
fields two football teams, two soccer teams, two volleyball teams 4 basketball teams and
an impressively large cross country team. Our progress was due in large part to an
increased commitment and dedication from parents and students, and from the
professionalism of our coaching staff.
Coaching Changes
As I imagine you all know our program lost two very integral parts with the
changing of the school year. Tommy Haney, our former soccer coach, and Susan Brooks,
our former volleyball coach were integral parts in the advancement of our department.
Each of these coaches reshaped their programs into a more efficient and effective system
and thereby made each more competitive. In efforts to maintain the professionalism of
the programs we have gone outside of our ranks to find the most qualified and motivated
replacements available. For full bios and backgrounds on our two new coaches: Grant
Guthrie for soccer and Angeanette Lovely for volleyball, you can refer to the back to
school letter you received from Mr. Lecky. I will give you a quick and brief synopsis.
Grant Guthrie has not only played competitive soccer on multiple continents, he
has coached at Ben Franklin, and organizes an impressive city-spanning program for
adults who play soccer. Grant has a very focused and skill based approach to soccer that
seeks to maximize the abilities of each individual player rather than force a general
concept on players of varying strengths. I have a great level of confidence in Grant’s
ability to lead our soccer program to new heights in the coming season.
Change In Soccer Procedure
Coach Guthrie would like to return practices to St. Andrew’s Cardinal Field.
Cardinal Field will be the primary practice space. We will likely rent space at the Fly
solely for the last practice before a game. Please be advised that this may result in
frequent shifts to the location of practice. Your entire season’s practice schedule should
come out with the game schedule, so we ask that parents be aware and make
arrangements for any off campus practices.
Angeanette Lovely is a US marine who has coached volleyball at many levels.
She is a USA volleyball certified coach as well as a certified personal trainer. She was
also the assistant coach of the New Orleans Hurricanes club volleyball team. It was on
this team that she assisted our former coach Susan Brooks, making her the ideal choice to
continue the path set out by coaches Brooks and Turner last year. I have met with her on
multiple occasions, and I am very excited to continue the growth of our wonderful
program. Assistant coach and veteran of our volleyball program Jennifer Turner for
whom we are very grateful will join her.
Changes in Volleyball Procedure
One part of hiring coaches who work outside of the school is that their schedules
are not the same as a teacher’s. Coach Lovely must shape her practice schedule around
her professional schedule and thusly cannot hold practices at our typical time of 3:30 pm.
This year’s volleyball team will be practicing on Fridays AT 5:15 pm and Saturdays at
9 am. In order to give our players the best possible facilities and to ensure that weather
and daylight do not become a factor, we have arranged for the girls to have 5 practices at
the Back to Basics Gym at 6124 Jefferson Hwy on Fridays starting on September 6th. We
are developing a partnership with Back to Basics to potentially serve multiple St.
Andrew’s sports.
Athletic Policies Guide
Over the past year, the coaching staff, Mr. Lecky and I have been working on an
official document to outline our athletic policies. This document acts as a guide as well
as a code of conduct for coaches, players and parents/fans. It is essential that our athletes
and coaches read and adhere to the rules of this document. I also invite and encourage
our parents to read this document to get a better understanding of how our athletic
department operates. You can find this document at the link posted below.
http://www.saesnola.org/pdfs/2013%20pdf%20uploads/AthleticPolicies2013.pdf
Athletic Fees
In the last 4 years, St. Andrew’s has gone from fielding 5 teams to 12. In order to
afford this increase in athletic offerings, we will be assessing a fee of $30 per player per
sport this season. These fees will help us outfit our players, pay our coaches and provide
for the facilities we need to properly train our athletes.
As the Athletic Director, my door, email box and phone are at your disposal when
uncertain or concerned about any sports related issue. I encourage players and parents to
approach me with any issue that they do not feel can be resolved through direct contact
with a coach, or are uncomfortable discussing with the coach. My role a AD will be
more active with our off site coaches, so unless the coach requests otherwise, feel free to
contact me during the day for any and all game and practice related questions.
We are fortunate and grateful for the wonderful support of our parents and the St.
Andrew’s community. I personally am very excited to begin our athletic programs and
for our upcoming success in teaching, learning and executing our athletic objectives.
Go Cardinals!!!
Coach Burns