By Jeanne Sager
LIVINGSTON MANOR — August 22, 2003 – There’s a new AD in town.
The Livingston Manor Central School District has faced a lot of turnover in its athletic department – three different directors in as many years.
But the new head is a familiar face.
John Evans has been a member of the Manor faculty since 1995 – first as a technology education teacher then as technology coordinator.
Now he’s going to be doing a twofold job – heading up the technology department and the athletic department as well.
A graduate of the nearby Roscoe Central School district, Evans is an area native.
And he played “every sport Roscoe offered.” So he’s a perfect fit for the AD position.
So what does he think of the appointment?
“It’s a little weird – the computer geek/jock coach thing,” Evans said with a laugh. “But seeing as I’ve only been [athletic director] for a month, you’ll have to ask me that question later.”
The Manor district is facing one of its most difficult budget crises in years, Evans said, which makes the new task extremely daunting.
“It’s challenging,” he noted. “The budget situation makes everything different.
“It’s not a situation we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
The lack of funding currently means there aren’t any modified sports planned for the school year, and there won’t be a varsity boys soccer team to take to the field.
“All we’ll have right now are the JV and varsity sports that we had before,” Evans noted.
A number of parents have reformed a booster club, however, to raise money and hopefully restore a number of programs cut from this year’s budget.
“If the funding comes through, we’ll have the modified girls soccer and modified boys football,” Evans explained.
And maybe varsity boys soccer as well, he added, depending, again, on funding.
The biggest challenge this has posed for Evans is scheduling and getting kids signed up for new programs.
Because there were no plans to field modified teams, there weren’t any signups.
Which means Evans has had to pack up all of the necessary paperwork kids will have to fill out or have signed by the time school opens “if” (the key word, he noted) the programs are funded.
Because of funding, not much will change in this year’s sports program other than teams already cut from the budget.
“This year it’s pretty much whatever is set in progress,” he noted.
The girls soccer team will be back on its own field – because the grass was reseeded last year the team practiced in Rotary Park and played all games away last year.
Evans hopes the parents looking for funding can restore at least some of the programs.
“Sports benefit students,” he noted. “They’re part of a team, they learn responsibility and commitment.
“It’s not so much me, me, me,” he continued. “If they skip practice or skip a game it’s not just hurting themselves – it’s hurting the whole team.”
The challenge will also be to make sure kids turn out if the money comes into place. Boys soccer has traditionally been a less popular sport at the school than football.
But Evans said the kids should be grateful for any help they can get.
“I hope there’s enough student interest in the sport that if parents come up with the money, students stick with it,” he noted. “I hope they understand [what an effort was made] and come out in numbers.”
Evans feels prepared to take over the position that has been spurned by other directors in the past.
He has a bachelor’s degree in technology education from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree in instructional technology from New York Institute of Technology (NYIT).
Currently he’s working on a professional diploma in school district administration from NYIT.
Evans and wife, Stacy, live in the Manor district. Their eldest child, 7-year-old Courtney, is a third grader in Manor. The couple also has a son, Josh, 4, and a 10-month-old daughter Caitlin.