Blue Devil Senior Athletes Participating in Survey

Huntington High School seniors who have participated in the Blue Devil athletic program at any point over the past four years shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to complete an online senior athlete survey. The seniors can weigh in and offer their views on a variety of aspects related to the program and provide feedback on their personal experience.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 33 Blue Devil senior athletes had completed the survey. Department officials are already considering possible changes in the program to provide for an improved experience.

Seniors can continue to access the survey at either this link: Senior Athlete Survey: Google Doc Form or by scanning the QR code at the top of this story.

This marks the second year Huntington UFSD’s athletic department is surveying its graduating seniors in an effort to gain feedback on their experiences. The survey can be submitted anonymously or an athlete can list their name if they’d like to further discuss any aspect of their experience.

NCAA by-laws require that each member institution conduct exit surveys with a sample of student-athletes. To meet that requirement, when a student-athlete completes their participation in intercollegiate athletics they are typically asked to complete a survey, including questions regarding the value of the student-athlete’s experiences athletically, academically and socially while representing the college in sports.

Seniors representing all 34 varsity sports programs are being surveyed. The survey asks about all aspects of the student-athlete experience and extends an offer for an in-person meeting with the athletic department’s administration.

The survey itself is modeled after similar college surveys. It’s the logical extension of the Blue Devil athletic program’s philosophy that opens with the following sentence: “We strive to provide the most student-focused athletic experience available in any high school in the country.”

The first “Huntington athletic priority” is “to provide positive and meaningful athletic experiences to as many students as possible.”

The surveys asks about experiences related to the coaching staff, facilities, athletic training, intramural opportunities, team morale, time demands and pressures associated with participation, student-athlete camaraderie, etc.

Seniors are asked early in the survey: “In a few words, how would you summarize your high school athletic experience at Huntington?”

The answers of the current 33 respondents follow in their entirety:

• Overall, my athletic experience at Huntington has been great. I love the people I am on my teams with and all of the memories I have been able to create with them. The coaches and environments that have been created are all very fun to be a part of as well.

• My athletic experience has been great and I enjoyed the time I have played.

• Very fun; a great way to make friendships and meet new people.

• My athletic experience was great; met more than half my friends just from playing sports

• Great got to spend time with people who love the sport of basketball as much as I do

• Amazing

• I would say it’s been really amazing and I had a lot of positive things come out of it.

• Very fun experience; like another family

• My high school athletic experience at Huntington has been a roller coaster to say the least, but I wouldn’t trade a second of it for the world. My overall experience has shaped me into the person I am today and I am forever grateful.

• My experience was fulfilling and helped me grow as a person.

• Great, no complaints

• It has created lifelong friends and experiences I have and always will cherish.

• It was a very good experience. The coaches are so nice and very good at teaching us our sport.

• Life changing.

• My experience has been great. I am very grateful for all my teammates that I have become friends with and all the great coaches and mentors that have taught me many things over the years.

• It was a great experience for me overall and I have had great coaches and teammates throughout my three-sport seasons every year I’ve been here. I’ve had great relationships with everyone that has helped me improve and get better since the beginning, including Coach John Romano, Coach Ron Wilson, Coach Eli Acosta and new Coach Shane McGuire. Also, my teammates made it feel like a family atmosphere each and every season.

• It was great! I loved getting to meet a lot of amazing people.

• Grand.

• My athletic experience at Huntington was everything I could wish for.

• My experience has been amazing. Surrounded by great coaches and great teammates

• Phenomenal experience. Coaches put in all the effort to make each and every player the best they can be while maintaining a bond with each player and strengthening the unity of every team. It’s an honor to wear Huntington on my chest.

• It’s was fun and helped me bond with my people

• My experience has been great from going to the county finals two times in three years to sweating all of my weight off in wrestling to make weight. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world; the great memories I made with my teammates

• I loved being a part of Huntington athletics even when it got rough. I made so many amazing friendships and I’m happy I continued all four years.

• Awesome experience with countless memories.

• Amazing opportunities; I was able to achieve a lot using my resources and developed lifelong friends.

• I had a great experience playing three different sports in high school. I enjoyed playing with friends while also making new ones. Each team sport and coaches taught me different traits that helped me develop into a better athlete and team player.

• My Huntington athletic experience was nothing short of an extraordinary experience with lots of fun, community, brotherhood and lots of winning.

• Best years; I learned so much and became a better person playing sports and overall had a lot of fun playing.

• It was very educational and amazing. I’m proud of all the values I have earned and lessons learned. And the people I met throughout my journey were amazing people