CHERYL FEENEY LEADS ARDREY KELL KNIGHTS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

 With less than two weeks before the opening of Ardrey Kell High School, the new athletic director, Cheryl Feeney, is busy at work.  One minute she is completing paperwork on a new football player, the next minute she is busy unloading a truck full of athletic equipment.  The work never ends for Feeney in the race against the clock at Ardrey-Kell High School.

Cheryl was kind enough to take a short break and answer a few questions on the new high school, its coaches and the challenges of opening a new high school.

Q. Everyone in the community is excited about the opening of a new high school; can you tell us how you became the athletic director and your background leading up to the job?

A. I am excited to be here in the Ardrey Kell community.  I played basketball, field hockey, softball and badminton at Ball State University.  After graduating I obtained my Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from St. Thomas University.  I spent many years coaching and teaching in high school and then college.  For two years I was head basketball coach at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL.  At that point I had the opportunity to become the Assistant Director of Athletics for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.  I spent seven years in that role before being named athletic director here at Ardrey Kell.  

Q. Tell us about your first few months on the job.

A. I have been running on adrenaline, on the go 24/7; all of us here on staff have been that way. We are all working so hard to have the school and all of the programs ready for the start of the year. Everyone here has a role to play and it’s going great.  Obviously we have a lot of equipment on order for athletics so it’s been busy making sure we get everything in and in place for the student-athletes.

Q. The next month will bring the opening of the season for all of the fall sports, what do you anticipate the next 30 days being like?

A. It’s going to be very busy; I am helping all of our coaches to get ready for the season.  We have two football scrimmages and then begin the football season; the other sports will start their seasons as well. We want to be fully prepared so that our teams can do their best and compete with everyone.

Q.Have you set goals for the school year?

A. We want to establish a foundation on which to build the Ardrey Kell athletic program.  We want to build a program that the community will support; we want them to come out for all of our sports.  We expect to compete in each sport and build successful programs that the community will be very proud of.

Q. Talk a little bit more about the Ardrey Kell Community and the role it can play in the development of the athletic program?

A. We need for the community to come to the events and support the athletes of the Ardrey Kell community. Hopefully the residents will take pride in the school and get involved in the many activities we will offer. Our Booster Club is already up and running and we would love to have more members join.  I believe with the school opening, we will have the novelty effect of people wanting to see what is going on; hopefully they will enjoy themselves and continue to come out and support the high school.

Q. What can you tell our readers about the coaches on staff at Ardrey Kell High School?

A. We have a great staff of coaches in each sport.  These coaches have excellent resumes and records in their sport.  We had hundreds of applicants for each coaching position and have been able to hire some very impressive coaches.  The coaches we have hired had to compete against the best to just get the job. With any new school, it brings a new opportunity and coaches wanted to be a part of Ardrey Kell High School.

Q. Over the last year, those of us that travel Ardrey Kell Road have witnessed the football stadium and how nice it is, what can you tell us about your other athletic facilities?

A. We have two beautiful gyms, the main gym and then another that we can use for practices. Our weight room will be state of the art once we are finished with it.  We have very nice baseball and softball fields as well.  Our coaches are all go-getters and know what they need for their facilities. 

Q. Ardrey Kell High School will open without a senior class, how will that impact the athletic teams?

A. We believe that will provide more opportunities for the younger students to be leaders on their teams.  The teams will have two years to develop their leadership and we believe that will be a plus.  Obviously, some teams will be short on depth, but we have over 60 kids at football practice already with new kids coming in each day. 

Q. In closing, if you could deliver a message to the Ardrey Kell community, what would that be?

A. We want to invite everyone to come out and participate in our schools activities. We hope that families without children here at Ardrey Kell will also enjoy coming to the games and play a role in our growth.  All of our administration and coaches are very excited about being here and look forward to growing with the community.

Q. We want to thank you for your time; we will let you get back to work, Good Luck on the 2006-2007 season.

A. Thank You. We have fantastic facilities and we are very privileged to have them.