1.  In just a couple of weeks all the parents will be happy to see their kids back in school and out of the house and away from their computer games and cell phones. The Athletic Department has been very busy during the summer arranging and changing sports schedules, ordering equipment, new uniforms, arranging transportation for our long distance games, contracting officials for our Jr. High games, hiring new coaches and refinishing and sprucing up the gym.  So we should be ready for another exciting sports season with all our dedicated teams and we hope to see a large spectator turnout at all our games.

2.  COACHES:  We have a number of new coaches and the following individuals will be heading our programs: 

3.  FOOTBALL & WRESTLING:  Just a reminder that we do have these programs available through our school and we have a Co-Op agreement with Loyalsock High School so that our athletes can participate in their programs.  The Football program is for grades 7 through 12 and Wrestling is for grades 9 through 12.  There is a participation fee that Loyalsock requires and our school pays half the cost and the parents pay the other half.  If any athlete is interested in these programs, please contact Mr. Lupacchino.

4.  SALE ON BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS EXTENDED:  Due to many families being away on vacation during the month of July, we have been asked to extend the popular pre-season reduced ticket sale for all our basketball games. Normal prices for adults is $25.00 and for students $8.00.  Through 31 August, the ticket prices will be  $20.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.  If you desire tickets just send in a check and the name of the individuals you desire tickets for and we will mail it back to you or you can call in an order to Mr. Lupacchino at 323-9953, ext 217 or stop in the Athletic Office for tickets.  These season tickets entitle you to any 10 home regular season Boys or Girls Varsity and Jr. High basketball games. This is an excellent item to give as a gift to your friends, family and even your Mother-in-Law and you get to watch some exciting basketball during those dreary snowy winter months.

5.  GOLF:  The Golf Coach, Mr. Matt Duffy will have a meeting with all the players on Friday, 14 August  at 4:00 at the Putting Green at the White Deer Golf Course. All golfers and any individuals interested in playing golf should attend this meeting.  After the meeting they may go out on the course or on the driving range for practice.   For information contact Mr. Duffy on his cell at 419-7959.

6.  Physicals:  The PIAA requires all athletes to have a new sports physical before they participate in any sports during the new school year. The physical must be obtained after 1 June 2009 of the upcoming school year and it is valid until 30 May 2010.  You are required to use the PIAA "Comprehensive Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation" form and this form is valid for the entire school year.  After an athlete competes in one sport and then desires to participate in one or more sports, the parent is only required to sign another separate form - "Section 5 - Recertification by Parent/Guardian", which indicates that there have not been any major medical changes or injuries from the previous sport.  This will then allow the athlete to participate in another sport without having to take another complete physical exam. However, if there is some questionable medical condition since the previous sport, then a new physical exam is required by a physician.  If you did not get a physical exam here at the school on 1 June 09 and intend to play in any sports or cheerlead during the school year, you must obtain a physical before you can participate.  The forms can be obtained from the Athletic Office in room 213 or they are available in a folder on the wall just outside the door.

7.  UP-TO-DATE SPORTS SCHEDULES:  We are constantly making changes to all our sports schedules.  In order to keep up to date with a current and accurate schedule of all our sports, please go to the following website:  "highschoolsports.net" and click onto the state and then our school and then you are into all our sports information and you can pull up any details that you need.  You can even get the schedules of any other schools. Do not rely on the Williamsport Sun-Gazette or our locally printed schedules to be current.

8.  ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION FEE:  We would like to remind all parents that each student that participates on a sports team must pay a $30.00 fee for EACH SPORT or Cheerleading that they participate in during the school year.  There is no discount for two or more sports or for two or more family members.  The fee should be paid in the Athletic Office or at the main school office and vouchers can be used for payment.  If any family feels they are unable to pay the fee, then they can discuss their situation with the Principal or the Athletic Director.  Team uniforms will not be issued to the players until the Athletic Fee if paid.

9.  NEUMANN PARENTS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (NPAA):  The Neumann Parents Athletic Association is always looking for additional individuals to be involved and help support all our sports programs.  Their next meeting will be on Wednesday, 9 September 09 at 7:00 PM in the High School Library.  Any individuals are welcome to attend the meetings.  The NPAA has been a very strong supporter of our Athletic programs and have raise funds to purchase equipment, awards and uniform items for all our athletic teams.  So far they have raised and contributed over $18,000 towards the school athletic programs in all our sports.  There is no cost to be a member other than a little bit of your spare time (this is a good excuse to get away from your husband or wife for about an hour or so).  If you have any questions, please contact the NPAA President, Mr. Kevin Way at 494-2115, or just attend the next meeting on 9 September at 7:00 PM.

10.  PARENT SUPPORT REQUIRED FROM ALL SPORTS:  In conjunction with the Neumann Parents Athletic Association (NPAA) and since they are a major fund raiser to support all the sports programs, starting this year, the NPAA will be contacting the parents and relatives of all athletes that participate in sports other than basketball or soccer and seeking their assistance in working the concession stand for one or two basketball or soccer games during the year and to take some of the burden off the basketball and soccer parents who also work all these games and raise the majority of the money for all our sports teams.  Many parents are not aware that the concession income from the basketball and soccer games is our only source of income and this helps pay for a very large portion of our athletic budget for equipment, awards and uniforms.  Therefore, parents from athletes that participate in Golf, Tennis, Softball, Baseball, Football, Wrestling, Cheerleading, Track & Field, etc., will be asked to assist in the concession stand during basketball and soccer seasons.  Again, this will only involve a few hours of your time during the entire school year (unless you want to work more hours) and it will get you away from cooking at home or watching the boring TV and you get watch an exciting ball game.  By the way, the volunteers do not always have to be parents.  Grandparents, friends, relatives, students, etc. can volunteer to work.  Also, this is a good way to get your In-Laws out of your hair for a few hours by having them volunteer to work in the concession stand.  If you would like to volunteer for any of the upcoming soccer or basketball games, please contact Mr. Kevin Way at 494-2115 or Mr. Tom Forquer at 321-9467. Also, they will even allow you to eat some of the left over soup or burnt hotdogs or munch on the stale potato chips that they have in the concession stand.  Many individuals have been known to gain weight after working in the concession stand, so either the food is good or the volunteers have been eating too much food and candy. Maybe that is why the profits have been down the last couple of years. But seriously, they do need more volunteers to come forward to help for a few hours in the concession stands, so give Mr. Way or Mr. Forquer a call and if you do volunteer and also gain weight, don't blame it on them.

11.  LOCATION OF SOCCER FIELD FOR PRACTICE:  As many of you are aware, we have been using the Army National Guard Armory field on Penn St. for our practice sessions for Soccer.  However, the Army is scheduled to build a new Administrative Training Center Building on these fields and we may have to move to another location. It all depends on when they will start the layout and construction work.  If and when we have to move, we have obtained permission from the City of Williamsport to use the Shaw Field for our practice sessions.  The Shaw Field is just a block south of the Divine Providence Hospital and a block North of Sheridan Elementary school.  But for now, we will still use the Armory for our soccer practice.

12.  GIRLS SOCCER PRACTICE:  The girls soccer team will have their first practice session on Thursday, 20 August 09 at 4:00 PM at the Armory.  All players are expected to be there and if you are unable to make it, call the Coach, Mr. Don Shade at 772-1131.

13.  BOYS SOCCER PRACTICE:  The boys soccer team will have their first practice on Monday, 17 August 09 at 4:30 PM at the Armory.  If you are unable to be there, contact the Coach, Mr. Joe Friel at 916-9576.  We still need additional players so talk your friends into coming out for the team.

14. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BASEBALL AND BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS:  Both our Baseball and Boys Basketball teams won the 2008-09 Mid-Penn Conference League Championships. The championship banners are on display in the hallway to the left of the main entrance on the first floor. They will be there until after school starts and then will be hung in the gymnasium with the rest of our banners.

15.  ST. JOHN NEUMANN IN TWO LEAGUES:  To further clarify the status of our sports programs, our school is currently affiliated with two leagues, The Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference (PHAC) and also the Mid-Penn Athletic Conference.  The new Heartland Conference was formed last year and consolidated a large number of schools into one conference and which the schools previously competed in a variety of sports in a number of different leagues.   There are 25 schools in the Heartland Conference and it is divided into 3 divisions, based on school size.  There are 8 schools in our division, which is Division III and are all small schools. The Mid-Penn Conference has 5 schools in that league (Benton, Sullivan County, Bucktail, CMVT and SJN) and we compete against each other for the league championship only in Boys & Girls Basketball, Softball and Baseball.  The Mid-Penn League stayed together with the five schools as Bucktail and CMVT decided not join the Heartland League and rather than disbanding the Mid-Penn League, we wanted to wait to see how the new Heartland League would function and if it would fit into our program.  So for now we are still in two leagues and that is why you many not see much publicity concerning the Mid-Penn League.

16.  THANK YOU:  We would like to thank Dr. Bill Keenan for conducting the sports physicals in June for the new school year. Again, many thanks to Mrs. Karen Lisi for taking the time from her busy schedule to provide her nursing skills to assist Dr. Keenan.

17.  CARPENTER NEEDED:  Due to the large number of trophies and awards that the school sports teams, cheerleaders and Odyssey of the Mind teams have won, we have run out of space in our trophy cases.  We are looking for a volunteer carpenter who would be willing to construct one or two large trophy cases, so that we can replace the three smaller cases that are scattered along the wall in the first floor entrance area. We need more space to store all the trophies and awards and future awards and to improve the appearance of the entrance area of the school. The construction could be done over a period of time and at the convenience of the volunteer(s).  If anybody is available, please contact Mr. Lupacchino at 323-9953, ext 217 or stop in room 213.

18:  PLAYERS NEEDED:  We are still in need of players for our Girls 7th & 8th Grade Softball team. At present only 9 girls have signed up. For Boys Soccer - only 10 players have signed up.  Also, looking for girls interested in Cheerleading and if we have enough we could have a Jr. High and Varsity Cheerleading squad.  So if anybody is interested or has forgot to sign up, please call Mr. Lupacchino.

20.  RADIO BROADCAST OF NEUMANN BASKETBALL GAMES:  We have again been contacted by Radio Station ESPN 1050 on the dial, to broadcast some of our Boys and Girls Varsity Basketball games.  We will be notified later on what games they will actually broadcast.

21.  FRANK PELLEGRINO TRIPLE ATHLETE $2,000 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD: The Frank  Pellegrino Triple Athlete $2,000 Scholarship will again be awarded this year for athletes that participate in three or more PIAA varsity sports during their Senior year. There will be one award for Male and one award for Female, for a total of $4,000.  A selection committee will determine the individuals to receive the award based on grades, overall sportsmanship, team spirit and needs.  In case of multiple eligible athletes in each gender, the selection committee will determine if the scholarship will be awarded to one individual or if it will be shared by more than one eligible individual. To be eligible an athlete can play either on the Varsity or JV team during a particular sport.  One major criteria to receive the Scholarship is that the athlete must be accepted and enrolled in a college to receive the award.

22.  SPECTATOR SPORTSMANSHIP:  Again, we want to remind everybody that often there will be some very close and competitive games throughout the year and this is when the parents and spectators get all tense and worked up with inappropriate comments and remarks directed at the officials, coaches, players and opposing spectators.  This is highly unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our school.  For many years St. John Neumann has been known for high levels of sportsmanship and courtesy to our visiting teams, spectators and officials, therefore we expect all individuals to control their emotions and behavior while attending any of our sporting events, both here at home and at away games.  Any inappropriate actions by players, coaches, parents or spectators may result in being removed from the team, being immediately removed from the area as a spectator and could result in being restricted from watching any future sporting event. There are certain restrictions that the PIAA can and will impose, as well as any conditions that our school would chose to use. We all know that parents and spectators know more than the coaches or can make better calls than the officials, but if you are sitting in the bleachers, then you are NOT A PLAYER, COACH OR AN OFFICIAL and therefore are only there to cheer for your team and not to shout criticism towards anybody.  Again, if you get out of hand, we will not hesitate in having you leave the gym or playing area.  Also, if you are ejected or removed from any game at an away school, that also may have an affect on your status to allow you as a spectator at our home games, regardless if your son or daughter is on a team.