Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, March 15, 2012
Bertrand leaves the Guilderland team after 12 years as athletic director
GUILDERLAND –– In many ways, Athletic Director Wayne Bertrand was a leader, but he says that he was just part of the Dutchmen team.
Next week, Bertrand’s Guilderland career will be over after 12 successful years. Sitting in his office on Monday, he didn’t seem particularly sad. He was more proud of what his school had accomplished over the time he was here.
“I’m not moving to another planet,” said Bertrand, 56, who is retiring. “This is a people business, and I made many lifetime friends. I’ll miss the people.”
Bertrand can’t name them all –– teachers, coaches, administrators, board members, community members, parents, and kids –– but he would if he had the time.
One of the people is his secretary, Maria Mazzone. “He’s nice, knowledgeable, and has a great sense of humor,” she said. “It was wonderful to work with him. He’s a great friend.”
“The team is the message,” Bertrand said. “I tried to take advantage of all the talent that we had here.”
During the Bertrand era, Guilderland started a field hockey and ice hockey team, won more Suburban Council titles than ever before, and invested in a groundbreaking concussion assessment program called ImPACT (Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing). Also, Guilderland’s athletic participation rate is 42 percent, 10 percent higher than the national average.
“We’ve hit the century mark,” said Bertrand. “We have great facilities, competitive teams, great coaches, and, above all, great kids.”
Athletics and administration is all that Bertrand knows. He’s not going to start a band, he doesn’t collect stamps, and he’s not much of a gardener. This has been his life for 32 years, and he loves it.
Bertrand is leaving Guilderland, but, “I’m not going to the nursing home,” he said. “I want to transition into something else, stay involved, and keep growing because I always want more. I might teach some coaching classes.”
Bertrand was a veteran of the system before coming to Guilderland. He spent 20 years at Ballston Spa High School, his alma mater, teaching health and physical education, coaching football and baseball, all while holding down a side job as a basketball official for high schools and Division II and III colleges.
“I was always interested in athletics,” said Bertrand, a former athlete. He has a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Brockport, a master’s in health education from Russell Sage, and an advanced certification in school district leadership from Saint Rose.
Bertrand has read lots of literature and shares it with the people who work around him. He once read about a college football coach who made his linemen play badminton for agility purposes.
“You learn by reading, talking, listening, and researching,” Bertrand said. “We only get nine, 10, or 11 hours in a day, but you wish you had more time. I’m not complaining, but you need time to develop yourself professionally.”
The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association publishes a professional journal every three months with articles by athletic directors from around the country. “I’m always talking and trading notes,” Bertrand said.
The annual conference for the New York State Athletic Administrators Association was this week in Saratoga and Bertrand attended. It’ll probably be his last one.
“It’s always good to learn,” Bertrand said.
Ron Ravena, Bill Scott, and Jay Wayand opened up many possibilities for Bertrand while he was working at Ballston Spa. The team mascot is the Scotties, named after Scott, the original athletic director. Wayand was also an athletic director, bringing Bertrand to his first NYSAAA conference.
Ravena was the head football and baseball coach for Ballston Spa, deemed “legendary” by Bertrand.
“They formed the way I think, shaped me,” Bertrand said. “They believed in having a good program.”
Scott told Bertrand that being an official would give him an advantage as an athletic director. “They make big calls in big games,” Bertrand said. “I get officials. I know them.”
Three roles
Bertrand wore three hats at Guilderland as the administrator for physical education, health, and athletics. He said the now retired superintendent Gregory Aidala, mentored him into being an effective administrator at Guilderland.
One of the most difficult parts of his job in the last few years has been dealing with budget pressure caused by reduced aid and increased costs.
Over Bertrand’s 32 years, people have often come back to talk to him about the big games from the past. “No one says, ‘Hey, do you remember that biology test?’” he said. “They always remember the big games. That’s the effect that athletics have on people.”
A memory that sticks out is when Ballston Spa’s baseball team had to use the school bus as a dugout in Granville because it was so cold outside. “The umps wouldn’t call the game, so the kids sat on the bus during the game,” Bertrand said. “Those types of issues prepare you for life.”
Bertrand wouldn’t say who is replacing him, but the district is doing away with the assistant athletic director position, which is held by Regan Johnson, who has been Bertrand’s right-hand man for years. Bertrand’s successor will have to deal with the ever-shrinking budget.
In recent years, Guilderland saved money by merging the ice hockey team with Mohonasen and sharing buses with other schools for far-away track meets.
When freshman sports were on the chopping block two years ago, the community pitched in and fronted the bill. This year, contributions paid for half of the costs of freshman sports.
“The new economic climate is a challenge,” Bertrand said. “You have to think of different ways to provide the same program. I was fortunate for my time because I thought creatively.”
“You have to have background, passion, be able to teach, connect, and engage kids,” Bertrand said. “Above all, maintain professional and personal relationships with the coaches. Be good teachers of the game.”
The coaches at Guilderland were Bertrand’s team, and he was the manager. “I enabled a staff and the universes aligned,” he said.
“Athletics is advanced placement classes of physical education,” said Bertrand.
It was common to see athletes playing three sports 20 or 25 years ago, Bertrand said, but now he feels like more athletes are focusing just on one sport. In his mind, an athlete is an athlete, and athletes should broaden their horizons.
“You’re putting yourself at a higher risk for injury if you’re always going through the same motion,” Bertrand said. “Playing a second or third sport isn’t going to make you any worse at another sport. But, if you just do one sport, do you lose interest? Colleges want to see all-around athletes.”
Bertrand is glad that no one thinks that Guilderland players are poorly behaved, cheaters, or an embarrassment to the community. The district has a good reputation. Dutch teams and coaches are respected, he said.
“You get the right people, put them in position, and carry out the message,” Bertrand said.
“I hope people say that I worked hard and had the best interest in the program,” said Bertrand. “I can’t always be perfect, but I tried to be good.”
Bertrand didn’t keep track of titles won, but he embraced athletics as an educational playing field for kids to learn life lessons. Yeah, his chest sticks out a little when Guilderland wins a big game, but that gymnast is just as important as that football player.
“The fields, courts, mats, and athletic environment,” he concluded, “are a classroom.”
— By Jordan J. Michael