The new year always brings a number of changes on the sports front. New faces will be patrolling the sidelines at the various Catholic high schools, and other changes will be quite noticeable for area sports fans.
Katie Godfrey is now the athletic director at Salesianum School, taking over from Scott Mosier, who has become the director of operations at Abessinio Stadium. The Sals’ cross country team also has a new coach. Scott Davis, a 2012 graduate of the school, is taking over after serving as an assistant for the past few seasons.
At St. Elizabeth, a few people have been sharing the AD’s duties since the departure of Marvin Dooley a few months ago. The school hopes to name an interim athletic director soon. The Vikings will have new coaches in football and volleyball. Mike Lemon, a graduate of Saint Mark’s High School, succeeds Dooley. Lemon has been the team’s defensive coordinator and served for a time as head coach at Delcastle Technical High School. The volleyball team is now being coached by Mike Zampini, who moved over from Concord High School.
The Vikings also have become full-time members of the Diamond State Athletic Conference. Last season, they played many of the DSAC foes in the various sports.
At Padua, the big news is that the gymnasium has air conditioning. The cozy, windowless room on the second floor of the school has been well-known for its heat and humidity, particularly early in the volleyball season. That will no longer be an issue.
The Pandas’ field hockey team has a new home. They will be playing on the outdoor turf field at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington. Their lacrosse team also will call that field home in the spring. Lacrosse will have a new coach when this season begins.
Padua also has hired a new soccer coach. Justin Romano, an assistant coach at Salesianum for the past 11 years, will take over from Matt Sturdivant. Romano, a guidance counselor at Salesianum, is also the technical director of the Delaware FC soccer club.
The changes in Ursuline’s athletic program will be very visible at Serviam Field. A parking lot has been installed beyond the northern end zone. There was a small lot at the field, and overflow parking was available at the former Barley Mill Plaza. But with the plaza demolished, those lots disappeared, and last year Ursuline had to limit who was able to park at the field. That will no longer be a problem.
One of the teams that calls Serviam Field home, the field hockey squad, will have a new coach. Lindsay Russell, a 2015 Ursuline graduate, joined the team last year as an assistant and is now the head coach. Russell was a three-sport standout for the Raiders, lettering in soccer and basketball along with field hockey. She played soccer at Washington College in Chestertown, Md.
And at Archmere, Jerry McCarthy has assumed the head coaching position in volleyball. McCarthy spent the last four years at St. Elizabeth, earning a spot in the state tournament three times. The former head coach, Brittany Biddle-Corrigan, will be assisting McCarthy.
The Auks also will begin their first season without Jim Malseed as the head athletic trainer for the first time in 40 years. Katy Sturdivant, formerly Malseed’s assistant, is the new head trainer, and James Clark has joined the sports medicine team at Archmere.
At Saint Mark’s, Lonnie Wright is the new boys basketball coach. He had been an assistant at Delaware Military Academy, and he is the founder of the Nothing But Net Sports Academy. The school also has added a dance team, led by former Philadelphia 76ers dance team member and captain Michelle Figueiredo.
Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic masks will be required indoors as mandated by Gov. John Carney. Padua’s athletic director, Lauren DiSabatino, said she spent a day with a yardstick and masking tape marking spots in the bleachers. The diocese is recommending three feet distancing when possible.
There are no state-mandated limits on attendance at athletic events.
