Mike Ramel, Athletic Director at Kerr-Vance Academy, joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and George Hoyle to speak about their upcoming Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Ramel also speaks on how the fall sports season has been very beneficial for KVA.
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In the month or so since he’s been Kerr-Vance Academy’s athletic director, Mike Ramel has been busy getting oriented to his new job, making connections on campus and in the community.
And while students and their families were welcomed back to campus Monday for a back-to-school event in advance of Wednesday’s first day of class for students, Ramel is dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s on this weekend’s volleyball tournament, hosted at KVA.
Fall sports practices began last week, Ramel said on Monday’s segment of The Local Skinny! With cross country, golf, soccer and volleyball cranking up, Ramel’s got a lot on his plate.
But first up is the KVA Invitational, which includes eight games on Friday, Aug. 14 and 12 games on Saturday, Aug. 15
“This will set the tone, for sure,” Ramel said of the tournament, which he billed as an action-packed weekend of competitive volleyball. It’s an early-season opportunity to compete with some local teams and others from a little farther away.
The tournament will begin with pool play and continues with a championship bracket and a consolation bracket.
Teams from Henderson Collegiate and Crossroads Christian will make the short drive to KVA’s Crawford Gym; other teams include KIPP Pride Littleton, Lighthouse, Excelsior, Carolina Collegiate and Triangle Math and Science, Ramel said.
He hopes having a good blend of local teams promotes good attendance – he’d love to see folks fill the stands.
“It makes it fun for the kids,” he said.
Visit https://www.kerrvance.com/ to find a complete schedule and pairings for the KVA Invitational.
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Mike Ramel, new Athletic Director at Kerr-Vance Academy, joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and George Hoyle to discuss the decision to come to Kerr-Vance and what he looks forward to within the new role.
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Jay Lee has been announced as the new boys basketball coach for Kerr-Vance Academy. He joins SportsTalk with Scout Hughes and George Hoyle to talk about what he brings to the Spartans Program.
Join our WIZS March Madness Basketball Tournament Challenge! Start your bracket!
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High School Baseball on Tuesday
College Baseball on Tuesday
World Baseball Classic – Finals
High School Baseball on Wednesday
College Baseball on Wednesday
Matthew McLaughlin said he didn’t set out to be a school administrator – he really wanted to be a middle school band teacher.
And McLaughlin was quite happy doing just that for many years.
Now, after close to two decades in the field of private education, he finds himself not in front of a bunch of tweens and teens learning music, but as the Head of School at Kerr-Vance Academy.
“School leadership and administration wasn’t on my radar,” McLaughlin said on Tuesday’s TownTalk. But as he took on various leadership roles, he was led to the University of Notre Dame to pursue a graduate degree that is specifically designed for private school leaders.
Since private schools are funded differently and governed differently than public schools, McLaughlin said private school leadership inherently involves aspects of business that public school leaders may not have to contend with.
He described his studies at Notre Dame as training that marries education and business, which he said is critical for private school leaders.
“We have to have some different conversations,” McLaughlin said. “The facilities are our facilities,” and they have to have some “pretty tight operational procedures” in place to make sure those facilities are maintained properly.
And although McLaughlin has only been on the job a month or so, he’s already witnessed one capital improvement project at his new workplace.
The school is finishing up work on a major renovation project at the Crawford Gymtorium, a multipurpose facility on the KVA campus that has been used over the years for everything from basketball games to graduation exercises.
They’ll have a ribbon-cutting on Friday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. to unveil the new gym floor, which McLaughlin said looks amazing.
A crew gutted the floor down to the concrete pad and built it back, he said, noting that it’s rated to last for 100 years.
Elected officials, alumni and others from the community are invited to attend the ribbon-cutting, which will take place during the KVA Fall Classic, which will bring several area schools together for two days of volleyball and soccer matches.
McLaughlin said he sees value in having a school like KVA in a community like Henderson, and you’ll never hear him say negative things about charter schools or traditional public schools. There’s room for all.
“I’ve made a career out of private schools,” he said. “There are some things that we do really, really well that can’t be recreated in the public schools…(but) they can do things that we’ll never be able to do.”
One of KVA’s advantages, he said, is the way it intentionally creates a feeling of community among its students and their families. There’s a day care on campus, so a child spend his or her entire school career at one school. That’s a long time to build community, McLaughlin said.
That dovetails perfectly with what McLaughlin said he has worked throughout his career for – watching and overseeing “the development of the whole person – it’s not just about reading and math. I love being a part of that and being a part of their story.”
Want to learn more? Visit https://www.kerrvance.com/.
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For George Hoyle, Sr., the head volleyball coach at Kerr-Vance Academy for the last four years, his love of volleyball started with his daughter and club volleyball teams and came full circle with his son, KVA Athletic Director George Hoyle, Jr., as the varsity volleyball program earned back-to-back NCISAA state championships over the last two seasons.
With only seven losses in four years, a 106-7 record, Hoyle said, “It absolutely started with the players and the devotion they put in. Great players make a great coach. We were in the gym three days a week working, but it’s got to be fun. It has to be fun or you’re not going to win. And we made it fun.”
Hoyle said, “It’s been a wonderful six years I’ve been there (as assistant and head coach). I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Check out the audio of our full interview here.
And now new coaches have been named, according the the Kerr-Vance Facebook page. The social media account for The Spartans says, “We are thrilled to announce the hiring of our new Varsity and JV Women’s Volleyball Coaches – Casey Ellington and Debra Medlin.
“Head Coach – Casey Ellington a native of Granville County played volleyball at William Peace University and has recently coached at the club level locally.
“Assistant Coach – Debra Medlin previously served as the Head Coach at C.E. Jordan High School from 1989 through 2000. She also recently served as a coach at Person County High School and Middle School.”
Hoyle felt like it was the right time to retire. He said, “We have a lot of the pieces to the puzzle for a new coach to come in…and they’re not going to skip a beat. They are going to have a good team.”
As to working alongside his son, George Hoyle, Sr. said, “It’s a lot of fun working with him. Made a lot of memories there. That just doesn’t happen to a lot of people. All those were great. It was a lot of fun working with him. It was really special.”
In continuing to speak of George Hoyle, Jr., the elder Hoyle said, “He does a great job, and I’m very proud of everything he’s accomplished. Going to miss that part of sure.”
Hoyle said success starts in the off season. “It starts in the off season. Everything starts in the off season. You’ve got to put in the preparation in the summer and winter months to be successful when the season comes around, and that’s what the girls have done at Kerr-Vance.”
For sure, love comes into it as well. “I love coaching and love youth sports more than anything. I absolutely love high school and college. I love to watch and be around it. I have been coaching youth sports since 2003. That’s a long time,” Hoyle said.
In one sport or another, Hoyle has been a coach, mentor and grounds keeper year round for decades.
Hoyle started to coach as an assistant under William Hoyle, who is distant kin, and George said, “William was great. I love him to death, and of those championships, it all started with him being there. And I appreciate everything he taught me about the game, and I started to love it at that point.”
For Hoyle and his family, they achieve by the most honest means. Hard work, dedication, gentleness, grace, intelligence. Congratulations to Kerr-Vance Volleyball and retired head coach George Hoyle, Sr.
— submitted by Anne Marie White
Kerr-Vance Academy will host two Open Houses in the upcoming days. The first will be Sunday, April 22nd from 2 – 4 p.m., and the second will be Thursday, April 26th from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Both events are floating tours of the full-service, on-campus facilities, and enrollment information will be available.
KVA State Playoffs Tues, Feb 13, 2018
Kerr Vance Academy will host Wayne Christian Academy in the first round of the NCISAA State Basketball tournament. The varsity girls and varsity boys teams will both play Tuesday, February 13 beginning at 5:30 p.m. The ladies team will play at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s team will play at 7 p.m.
WIZS is scheduled to broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. on 1450 AM and online at wizs.com for the varsity boys team, including a full update on the girls game.
Admission is $7 for adults and students including KVA students are admitted for $5. Children under eight years old are free.
Headmaster Frank Wiggins has asked WIZS News to invite everyone from the community to come out and support KVA.
New Teacher Bag Donations
We need your help to welcome our new teachers to Vance County!
Snacks, gum, candy, water bottles, notepads, pens, pencils, coupons etc. are just a few of the things we need to pack in the bags. Make sure your business name and contact information is on the items you donate. This is a great way to advertise your business to a new group coming into the Vance County area.
We will be packing 150 bags and these will be distributed to new teachers at all Vance County Public schools, Kerr-Vance Academy, Henderson Collegiate, Vance Charter, and Crossroads Christian.
If you would like to make a donation, please contact Melanie Mann at 252-438 8414 or info@hendersonvance.org.
Deadline for donations is this Friday, August 25th.
On May 25, Kerr Vance Academy held a banquet to honor the 2017 NCISAA state champion baseball and soccer teams. After dinner, both teams were recognized and coaches presented individual awards.
Varsity Women’s Soccer Awards
Emma Pelfrey – Outstanding Senior
Ashley Dickerson – MVP
Caroline Hoyle – MVP
Emma Hogge – MVP
Riley Short – Coach’s Award
Lorena Negron – Coach’s Award
Bonnie Evans – Outstanding Defensive Player Award
Meagan O’Leary – Coca Cola Academic Award
Nicole Dunkley – CIC Conference Player of the Year
Raz Tegean – CIC Conference Coach of the Year
CIC All Conference Team Selection: Nicole Dunkley, Riley Short, Caroline Hoyle, Bonnie Evans
CIC All Conference Honorable Mention: Emma Pelfrey
All State Selection: Nicole Dunkley, Riley Short
Varsity Men’s Baseball Awards
Banks Conde – Outstanding Senior Award
Jabe Montgomery – MVP
Wil Short – Golden Glove Award
Cam Murphy – Golden Glove Award
Colby Wilkerson – Silver Slugger Award
All-State Baseball – Jabe Montgomery, Colby Wilkerson
CIC All-Conference – Jabe Montgomery, Colby Wilkerson, Cam Murphy, Wil Short
Honorable Mention CIC All-Conference – RJ Johnson
JV Baseball Awards
RJ Johnson – Silver Slugger Award
Tom Echols – Most Valuable Utility Player Award
Cole Merritt – Most Improved Award
Wyatt Humphries – Most Improved Award
Chance Murphy – Golden Glove Award
