After several community meetings in both Ellsworth and Adrian and after several coaches meetings, the two schools came to an agreement to pair on athletics. Already together in softball, baseball and wrestling, and this year football, the two schools decided to complete the process.
The official pairing will be a new step for the schools. Both schools will be cost sharing to support the program, according to the number of athletes participating. The name of the joint teams is officially the Adrian/Ellsworth Dragons. Basketball season will see the beginning of this pairing. Three home games for the boys and three for the girls will be played in Ellsworth, at which time the teams will wear the colors of the Panthers; and three home games for each team will be played in Adrian, wearing the blue and gold of the Dragons. All road games as well as section play will be played in the official team colors of blue and gold. Junior high games and practices will be held in both schools, utilizing all of the gyms. All coaches will remain on staff for all of the sports. In the future, any coaching staff openings will be offered in both schools, to be filled from existing staff first.
In the past few years, Adrian and Ellsworth have been paired as Adrian Area for baseball, softball and wrestling. There hasn’t always been athletes from Ellsworth participating, but the opportunity has been available. “The pairing will allow the student athletes from both schools to participate at the appropriate age level,” said Judy Huisman, Athletic Director from Ellsworth. “Change is not always easy and can be scary, but once the season gets started, I feel they will do well participating together. The sports we already paired with have had a very positive outcome.”
Both Adrian A.D. Director Joe Kruger and Adrian MS/HS Principle Kate Koehne echoed Huisman’s thoughts. “This is just for athletics,” Kruger explained. “Both school boards have decided to move forward with this,” said Mrs. Koehne. “Our hope is that this is a long term process…it’s not good for the students or the communities to go back and forth.”
The basketball season is just around the corner. With this new pairing in place, the hopes for a successful season are high. Congratulations to the Adrian/Ellsworth Dragons and good luck on this first season.
