There is a new athletic director at WCHS.  Mr. Evan Ivory was instated at the beginning of the school year. Since the day he started, Mr. Ivory has been non-stop working to make our athletic program better.  It actually has been hard to get ahold of Mr. Ivory because of how busy he is with it being his first year as the new athletic director.

Mr. Ivory grew up in Centerville, Ohio and graduated from Centerville High School with the class of 2006.  He then attended Ohio University and after he graduated he moved to Cincinnati to get his master’s at Xavier University.  Before he came to WCHS, Mr. Ivory was the Athletic Director at Walnut Hills Junior and Senior High School in Cincinnati.

Mr. Ivory enjoys spending his free time with his wife and dog. They enjoy traveling when they get time away.  He also enjoys golfing when the weather allows him to.  He also enjoys video games. ¨I am also a gamer at heart,¨ he said.

When asked what drew him to WCHS, Mr. Ivory said “The West Carrollton job opening attracted me because I always wanted to come home to the Dayton area. I knew West Carrollton has a rich tradition in the Dayton area and I wanted to be a part of that and help grow the department.”

When asked his opinion on where he thinks the athletic program is at right now. Mr. Ivory said, “I think we are in a great place right now. We have a great group of coaches that are passionate about their student-athletes and the school community. We are in a transition period with the move to the Miami Valley League coming next year, so I am very hopeful for the future of our program. We have an Athletic Department that are work-a-holics and work tirelessly to help put our student-athletes in a place to be successful.”

Mr. Ivory’s vision for the future of the program is to have the most participation from students and for them to get involved in sports. “One of my visions for the future of the department is one that has student-athlete participation at an all-time high. There’s a real downward trend in participation in high school sports in the country. I want our department to overcome the obstacles that have lead to decreased numbers. We want our student-athletes to get involved in our offerings and find a passion for athletics,” Mr. Ivory said.

To maximize the participation in our program, Mr. Ivory believes that coaches need to find the balance between having fun and hard work.

Mr. Ivory believes we have a great staff of coaches in our program.  When he started at the high school he wanted to change the culture of the school and raise the bar and he feels that the coaches are doing a great job helping him do that.

To grow a program, Mr. Ivory believes you need great coaches and a clear vision of where you want your program to be.

Mr. Ivory plans on doing more fundraisers to improve our school’s budget for athletics: “ I think fundraising is a year-round commitment that all of our

programs need to focus on. As an Athletic Department, we will be looking to bring back the golf outings. We are also working on hosting summer camps for all sports over the summer. The camps will help us raise money for the programs, but also grow our future student-athletes.”

To get a student’s perspective, we talked to senior Caleb Harris and asked him how he felt Mr. Ivory is doing so far as the new director.

Harris said that “he is doing really well and it’s good how he comes to the games and events to support the program.”

Mr. Ivory has been coming to a lot of events including the boys sectional golf tournament, Powder Puff and fall sports senior nights. Mr. Ivory has also stayed very busy trying to improve our program, make the high school athletic experience better and schedule for next season.  Harris said he appreciates that as well.

When asked where he currently sees our program, Harris said “The program is getting better and is improving and you can tell by looking at the stats that we are getting better as a program.”   

When asked what he thinks Mr. Ivory can do to make the program better Harris said: “Update the equipment as needed and don’t spend all the money on football, as well as loosen up because we are just having fun.”

Mr. Ivory is doing a great job at his first year as WCHS Athletic Director and he wants to encourage students to try something new, like a new sport, and to not be afraid to pick up a new sport you’ve never played before.  As well as to follow the new athletic Twitter page: @WCpiratesAD for new updates and info on this coming winter season with workouts and tryout dates.