By Grahm Reynolds
Recently, BHS welcomed a new member into the Hornet family – new Athletic Director Mr. Thomas Ermini. Becoming the new athletic director in the middle of a national pandemic, Ermini has some ideas about what to do to help BHS during this time.
Prior to becoming our Athletic Director, Ermini worked since 2017 at Walsh Intermediate School where he was a physical education teacher as well as the Athletic Director of the middle school. Before this year, the athletic director duties at BHS were handled by Mr. Paluzzi and Mr. Synodi.
Ermini was a physical education teacher for 9 years at Milford Public Schools before coming to WIS. He also created the middle school’s wrestling program, and has coached there to great effect for the past 13 seasons.
Ermini said he wants to strengthen the programs offered at each school.
“I view education-based athletics as an extension of our traditional classroom,” Ermini said. “There are countless life lessons that are taught through these programs and it is my role to enhance these opportunities for student-athletes, coaches, and community.”
However, right now athletic directors around the country are dealing with something that’s never been seen before. The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged the globe, and has taken any sense of normalcy with it.
“Being an athletic director during this pandemic can be challenging as you encounter unexpected changes more often than in a traditional school year,” Ermini said.
In this new normal, there is no such thing as things going as expected. Every day comes with a new challenge, new news about the pandemic, and this means things are hard to plan, he said.
“I just focus each day on making sure that I have the most updated information available so that I can communicate it with others as we work through it together,” he said.
Despite the pandemic, fall sports still went ahead, although vastly different from normal. From cross country to soccer, many seasons were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The CIAC recently postponed winter sports until Jan.19, 2021.
“The most important thing for everyone to remember is that our community’s safety is our district’s top priority,” he said. “All we can do right now,” Ermini says, “is continue to wear our masks, promote social distancing, and stay safe in hopes that we will be back competing at some point later this school year.”
