Sports are a passion for Weston's Berkowitz

By LIA POIN

With August rolling in and summer on its way out, many high school athletes are beginning to get "in gear" for the upcoming fall sports season. But others have had all three upcoming sports seasons on their mind since the summer began.

Namely, Weston High School Athletic Director Mark Berkowitz. Even in the summer with school out of session, there is still a lot of planning to be done at Weston.

"The fall schedule is mostly all done; all the non-conference games are scheduled," Berkowitz said. "And the winter non-conference games are starting to be scheduled at this point."

Berkowitz has been planning and organizing all summer long. According to him, that’s what the summer is for. Athletic handbooks are revised, articulating Weston’s athletic philosophy, files are put in place and games are scheduled.

"It’s really just organizing all the paperwork and getting everything ready for when the fall kicks off so it kicks off with a bang," Berkowitz said.

And once school begins, Berkowitz’s job entails even more, encompassing everything that deals with the high school athletic programs. There are phones to be answered, emails to reply to and buses and officials to be scheduled.

But Berkowitz’s position requires a lot more from him. He tries to be personable with the athletes, holding meetings with captains and athletes alike and making it known that he’s a support system for each and every athlete.

"We have a captain’s circle where, once a month, I meet with every captain of every team, whether they’re in season or out of season," Berkowitz explained. "We talk about what’s going on on their teams and how they can help to improve the overall athletic atmosphere, as well as in their programs."

This year, Berkowitz will also be holding a freshman athlete meeting once per season. Berkowitz hopes to express the role of athletics at Weston to the freshmen, as well as labeling himself as an outlet and someone to talk to if need be.

"The thing that I always try to do is let all of the athletes know that my door is always open to them if there are concerns that they have; that our athletic family works together, we’re all in this together," Berkowitz said. "We want to have the best possible experience for all within the guidelines of what high school sports is all about.

"Basically, you’re here for the coaches and the kids and you do whatever you need to do to make sure that they’re out doing what they want to do and they’re doing it the best they possibly can," Berkowitz continued. "Sometimes that means covering a practice because the coach can’t be there, sometimes that means riding a bus, it means a lot of different things. Sometimes it means letting a kid cry on your shoulder because they didn’t make the team they wanted to make. You just try to do all of it to the best of your ability."

And Berkowitz has a lot of experience working and interacting with high school athletes. Even though this will only be his second full-time athletic director at Weston, he’s coached boy’s soccer there for eight years prior.

After playing soccer in college, Berkowitz knew that he wanted to be involved with sports. He moved back near his Connecticut high school and became a volunteer assistant to the soccer program. He then moved to Illinois and said he "really caught the bug of being a high school coach." After being a physical education teacher and a soccer and basketball coach for seven years, he moved back to Connecticut and came to Weston High School.

At Weston, Berkowitz was first a middle school coach and PE teacher for five years. He then moved to the high school and became a high school health teacher and the boy’s soccer coach. Under his guidance, the team won the 2005 FCIAC Class M Division Championship, a definite factor in earning him the C.S.C.A. Coach of the Year title.

And he loves his new job as an athletic director.

"Sports has always been in my blood," Berkowitz said. "I was a three sport athlete in high school and I’ve always loved being around all different kinds of sports."