Plans for Memorial and Legacy’s new programs are already being set up next year, and the coaches and staff members are hard at work preparing for the future.
Directors for band, orchestra, choir, theatre and athletics were named in the fall, allowing progress for those programs to be made.
Directors have said the plans are on schedule, but there are many details that need to be made by the end of the school year.
Memorial head football coach Marc Bindel is starting the new year off strong by having his athletes work out together and beginning new plans for next year’s coaches.
“I have attempted to look at the big picture. And I really want to make sure all athletes are being developed,” Bindel said.
Bindel couldn’t have asked for more than to have new members join the team and set a good example. The seniors and freshmen have great leadership and show a great example of what they need more of in their program.
“The freshmen are setting a perfect example of this behavior for the team and their school,” Bindel said. “That also means developing coaches, as I want to do a lot of coach professional development and even have a future head coach school so that young coaches can aspire to be a head coach.”
The directors have all agreed that it’s been hard working on getting programs ready and people transferred to the new school and working on their current job at the same time. That especially means the middle schoolers that are going to Legacy and Memorial.
“The biggest thing is getting our people involved, getting the calendar cleared out, making sure that we’re organized on that front,” Legacy band director Loy Studer said. “We’ve obviously got to figure out how to split up instruments and inventory and stuff from three schools going to two, but I say majority of ours is working with parents and working with kids.”
Studer has to worry about physical items like new band uniforms, but he also has to worry about new music for Legacy.
“There’s going to be a lot of different stuff as far as, you know, obviously physical stuff like new uniforms, but we’re going to have a whole new folder of stand tunes that must be all completely new,” Studer said. “We’ll see about the rest of it as we get going.”
Memorial choir director Melanie Coons is said one concern is getting enough kids in her program so the new school can be staffed.
“Our biggest issue is just making sure that we have enough students because if we don’t, we don’t get our assistant choir director,” Coons said. “I don’t want to do the job by myself.”
The teachers are fixing all the major issues that are going on with the new school, while preparing to leave the past behind them and moving onto a new life with their new programs.
“Just having a new room with all new things and being able to start our own traditions rather than having to follow the ones that have been set for me, the whole idea of getting to start fresh,” Coons said.
All the directors have agreed that it has been hard working on the new programs at Memorial and Legacy while finishing up their jobs at Rider.
“I’m trying to focus on getting new things ready, but at the same time I don’t want to take away from this group,” Coons said. “And this year’s seniors because I don’t want them to feel short-changed. Like their senior year isn’t as special as all the past.”
