On June 29, the Lafayette Commodores named Greg Lewis as the school’s new Athletic Director. Lewis is replacing Gray Drewery, who retired at the end of the school year back in May.
While the athletic director position comes with a lot of responsibilities, Lewis has been able to work closely with Drewery for the past three years serving as the assistant AD. During that three-year period, Lewis was able to learn the ropes and can step into his new role with the necessary experience.
“It has let me see all aspects of it, from the teaching to the coaching. To do the job as an AD you need to see how things need to be run. I’m not saying that we need to make a lot of changes or anything, but to keep doing what we are doing it’s important to see every aspect. We must also continue making sure that coaches are taken care of and having good quality teachers.” Lewis said.
The Commodores will no longer be in District 4A classification as when school starts back they will be competing in 5A. Lewis knows that there are always challenges when making such a move, but he believes the Commodores are ready for the jump.
“Moving up will definitely be a challenge. We have been the biggest school in 4A for the last few years, all of the sudden now we’re going to be one of the smaller schools in 5A,” Lewis said. “At the same time, I feel like we have been preparing for it for the last few years. We knew it was coming sooner or later. With the coaches we have in place, I believe that we are prepared for it. Will it be a challenge? There’s no doubt just because they have a lot more kids to chose from. I look for us to do just as well. I feel like we will compete in every sport.”
As Lafayette looks to compete on the fields, Lewis believes it all starts in the classrooms. There’s a lot more to athletics than the Xs and O’s, and Lewis wants to continue bringing in coaches and teachers that build relationships with athletes on and off the field.
“Making sure that you get a good quality teacher over there who is also going to be a great coach to be around these young men and women,” Lewis said.
Heading into the 2017-18 calendar year, Lewis is ready to see the school’s athletes compete at a high level while maintaining the school’s standards.
“I say to all of them your goal, of course, is a state championship. We were very fortunate to win state championships football and basketball, along with individuals in tennis, track, and others. So you want to set your goal high,” Lewis said. “I want to work towards winning the all-sports award and be recognized as a district in all of our sports. I want our student-athletes making the grades that they need to and having a high-grade point average all across the board; those are all high standards that you want to set for your program.”
Adam Brown is the sports editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
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