Athletic director outlines expansion plan, staffing and facility needs for School City of East Chicago

Gralin Gordon, athletic director for the School City of East Chicago, told the board of trustees during a May work session that the district offers 21 sports and plans to add one sport per year for the next three years, beginning with girls flag football this fall.

Gordon said the athletic office has been rebuilding since he was appointed in late November 2022, and that while participation has increased in some programs — boys basketball won sectionals last year and again this year, and an athlete, Amari Leake, became a regional champion — overall participation remains too low to reliably field freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams in many sports.

The issue matters beyond wins and losses, Gordon said, noting student-athletes at Central High had a 2.49 grade‑point average compared with 2.25 for the overall student body. “I want every student to understand and live by the cardinal way,” Gordon said, describing a mission that pairs athletic and academic success with community engagement.

Gordon outlined staffing gaps: several coach positions are part time or open and he recommended converting more roles to full‑time to build relationships between coaches and students. He said about five positions were open and several part‑time coaches do not work in the district. Gordon added the district’s coach pay is “the lowest of all the schools” in a slide he shared with the board and urged higher salaries to attract and retain qualified coaches.

Facilities were a recurring topic. Gordon asked the board to consider reusing a field near the fitness center and removing abandoned boats to create space for lower‑level softball and practice fields, and said he and operations staff review projects weekly. He described planned fundraising including paver sales and a potential new or repaired video scoreboard at the Burrato Center.

Board members and attendees praised recent successes and asked for more detail. Trustee Gomez asked for a per‑sport budget breakdown and for participation and multi‑sport athlete counts; Gordon said those details are included in the packet and offered to provide the per‑sport budgets. Trustees also raised the condition of tennis courts and surface requirements for pickleball, discussed coach recruitment strategies and asked for clearer timelines to fill open coaching positions.

The work session included several public and board comments recognizing community programs such as the bitty‑ball league, soccer fundamentals camp and returning Pop Warner activity, which Gordon and trustees said are important to rebuilding a feeder system. Several trustees offered help with fundraising and volunteer support for games and camps.

The discussion was informational; formal approvals for budget changes, staff reallocations or capital projects were not recorded in the work session minutes. Gordon said many items will require future budget or agenda actions.

Gordon credited the athletic staff’s efforts and urged the board to consider reinvesting in coach pay and full‑time positions to sustain growth. He said the program’s immediate priorities are hiring coaches, increasing community feeder programs and securing practice and competition space around the campus.