Jerry Don Bray, Athletic Director for Chickasha High School, answered questions about the upcoming bond issue and the state of CHS sports.
The August 18, 2022 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha was called to order by President Lewis Knisley. Rot. Mitch Williams led the club in singing the Chickasha Fight Song.
Pres. Knisley gave a few announcements:
- The club's clothes closet project at Bill Wallace Elementary School will be starting soon as the grant funding is no longer held up.
- Trivia Nights will be held on the second Friday of each month starting in September, in order to not coincide with CHS home football games.
- The club's Food Committee is in need of volunteers and is accepting suggestions for additional catering options.
Rot. Gerron Smith provided an update on the Rotary Roll Call program, which provides bicycles to Chickasha elementary school students (2nd-6th grades) who have perfect attendance. The bid to provide the bicycles this year was awarded to Legendary Bicycles. This year, care was taken to ensure that the correct size bikes would be ordered for each grade. The bicycles will be given out at the beginning of October and again at the end of the calendar year.
Rotarian of the Day Zack Bowles introduced the week's speaker, Jerry Don Bray. Bray has been with Chickasha Public Schools for 17 years and is currently serving as its athletic director.
Bray began by mentioning the bond issue that will be voted on this coming Tuesday, August 23. The proposition includes improvements to the football field and the track surrounding it, including expanding the track to be eight lanes. Bray said that the school's facilities for baseball, softball, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, and more were in good shape for hosting district tournaments; the football field and track needed the most attention.
CHS' volleyball and softball seasons are underway, with football right around the corner. In the past year, the district ahs hired new coaches for football and baseball. Bray spoke highly of new football coach Eric Gibson and also went over assistant staffing changes. Asked how many players were on the team, Bray said 65.
Bray further estimated that there are over 300 total student athletes at CHS, out of 650 total students. He acknowledged that this number included those involved in "e-sports". The introduction of e-sports to the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletics Association (OSSAA) was intended to engage students who were previously uninvolved rather than taking away from physical sports teams; Bray said that this seemed to hold true.
Returning to the subject of the bond issue, Bray said that the field work will begin immediately after the football season ends. The track and field team will practice elsewhere in the spring. The facilities should be complete in time for the 2023 football season. Members raised concerns about visibility from the stands, particularly the box seats.
Bray additionally discussed the integration of CHS athletics with Science & Arts and with CHS alumni. One of the ways CHS and Science & Arts athletics have worked well together has been through Science & Arts players helping to coach CHS softball and soccer. Bray mentioned the typical challenge of finding coaches that are dedicated to Chickasha, but the district has seen success with recruiting CHS alumni to return and coach teams.
The district is looking to improve sponsorship packages and benefits. They will be installing screens in the gym and a new digital scoreboard to provide more advertising opportunities. Sponsors will be able to enjoy a meal and snacks before the games.