|
Baseball and Girls Flag Football: Once SAAS was admitted to the Metro League, its leadership affirmed their support for SAAS, adding sports where feasible for our numbers and facility access. In the spring, we surveyed families to discern levels of participation and support for different sports. Baseball and Flag Football had high interest and, importantly, suggested the ability to field full teams.
SAAS has excellent access to baseball fields, thanks to the baseball diamonds at Seattle Parks Delridge Playfield and several other park locations. Girls Flag Football, being a winter club, benefits from the high availability of fields during that season. Furthermore, several full-time SAAS faculty members bring valuable head coaching experience at the high school level in both baseball and flag football, which is a significant advantage for any new program. Given the expressed interest, we are continuing to explore options regarding Boys Flag Football. Regarding a SAAS Football team, we are not actively considering adding this program at this time.
We recognize that baseball and Girls Fastpitch are commonly grouped together, and we want to ensure we provide diverse opportunities for all athletes. We plan to add fastpitch in 2026. At the moment, there are no plans to add other sports beyond these in 2026. Still, we will continue to consider based on the degree of student interest, facilities, and Metro League availability.
Baseball Coaches: Max Bayern, who is on the faculty at SAAS as an Assistant Athletic Director will serve as Head Coach, if our request to add baseball is confirmed by the Metro League, Max played at the high school and collegiate level, and has coached at the college and high school levels, including in the Metro League at Seattle Prep.
Nick Manfreda will join the coaching staff as well; he is a full time Math teacher at SAAS, and served as Head Varsity baseball coach at Newark Academy on the East Coast, before coming to SAAS.
And joining the coaching staff is 11-year Major League veteran player and SAAS parent Jason Bay, a three time Major League All-Star, Silver Slugger Award winner, and MLB Rookie of the Year.
Athletic Trainer: This fall, SAAS welcomes our first in-house Athletic Trainer, Caitlin Brown. Originally from Northwest Indiana, Cait obtained her BS in Athletic Training from Purdue University. While at Purdue, she worked with their softball, tennis, soccer, and football teams. After graduating, she ventured to the University of Idaho, where she obtained her MS in Movement and Leisure Sciences. While at Idaho, she worked with women’s volleyball, tennis, and soccer teams. We are thrilled to have Cait join our team and share her wealth of knowledge and experience with our program and athletes!
|
