A new season is approaching and Blue Devil athletes and coaches are eagerly anticipating the beginning of tryouts and practice sessions on Monday, August 22.
Two dozen Huntington High School athletes garnered All-State honors in 2021/22, but as time marches on, the Blue Devils are enthusiastically looking forward to the future.
Huntington School Board members, Superintendent James W. Polansky and members of his central administrative team and high school Principal Brenden Cusack and his assistants are all lined up behind the Blue Devil athletes and coaches in full support of their goals and quest for championships.
“Athletics, particularly high school and youth sports, has been very important to me on many levels for many years,” Mr. Cusack told the crowd at last June’s 54th annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards ceremony in the high school auditorium.
“As a former high school athlete and college recruit, youth football coach, principal and parent of athletes, I’ve gotten to see this world of sports from many different perspectives,” Mr. Cusack said. “Each different role I’ve been afforded has truly given me a great deal of joy over the years and my respect for sports and those who participate in them has grown with each new experience.”
Mr. Cusack along with Mr. Polansky and district trustees are regulars on the sidelines at home and away games. They have all facilitated recent improvements to the athletic program across every level and have provided substantial resources into creating additional opportunities and possibilities for success.
“As an athlete, sports helped to give me an identity and focus that I most definitely would not have had otherwise,” said Mr. Cusack at last June’s awards ceremony. “As a coach, I got to see just how much time and effort goes into each practice and game and what a labor of love it can be, culminating in the thrill of seeing kids learn, grow and succeed on the field. As a parent, I learned that even I could be ‘that guy’ from time to time who doesn’t know how to control the volume knob as the pride of watching your own kids out there is truly overwhelming. And as a principal, having our Blue Devils to cheer for has been an absolute blessing for these last 10 years. The sum total of all of these experiences is the understanding that sports plays a huge role in the life of a student and it takes a great deal of sacrifice.”
There is little question that Mr. Cusack and his colleagues are Blue Devil fans through and through. As last year’s seniors prepare to head off to college, returning Huntington athletes are committed to making their personal marks and creating lasting memories.
“Students, coaches and parents, as you all well know, you spend half your lives preparing, organizing and executing everything that is needed to make it all happen,” said Mr. Cusack last June. “I am so grateful that you do. Even though high school sports may have highs and lows at any given moment, these sports enhance the lives of our kids and the fruits of all this labor is sitting here tonight waiting to be recognized. I have a great deal of respect for these young men and women and I sincerely thank everyone who has helped them on their journey as successful student athletes.”
