Verona Area School District reports 538 fall athletes, highlights state placings and new adaptive league

Coach Steiner, the athletic director for the Verona Area School District, told the board the district had 538 students participating in fall sports and reported a combined quarter GPA of about 3.44 for those athletes. "We had 538 student athletes participate in fall sports," he said, adding that the figure is typically the highest of the three sports seasons.

The presentation framed individual and team highlights. Boys cross country under coach Matt Cooper swept varsity and both JV levels and won the Big 8 Conference for the first time in the school’s history, with Aaron Yarbrough finishing sixth at state. The girls cross country squad finished second in conference and featured All‑State performer Izzy DeCappler. Girls volleyball reached the Resch Center and tied for the Big 8 co‑championship; the program and several individuals also earned all‑conference and all‑state recognitions.

Steiner described staffing and coaching transitions: several coaches stepped away for new positions or retirement and new hires filled roles in boys soccer and other sports. He also highlighted staff awards, noting assistant coach Raymer was named assistant coach of the year and is scheduled for induction into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Beyond wins and honors, the department outlined new and continuing initiatives. Steiner said the district started an Adaptive Sports League this fall so high‑school students with disabilities could compete under a school‑centered model aligned with Special Olympics principles. He also described a student‑athlete leadership initiative that created four student‑led committees — leadership development, culture/ belonging, volunteer projects and mental health — to shape program priorities.

Steiner said the department is piloting GRYT leadership surveys to collect student and caregiver feedback. "It uses AI to generate summaries," he said, which the department uses to present coaches with common themes without exposing individual comments. He also noted operational changes after the district's scheduling software was acquired by Arbiter and said staff were exploring the use of large video boards and whether to add boys volleyball, subject to stakeholder input and budget impacts.

In a board question about the jump in participation from 471 to 538, Steiner said the increase was not from a new team but largely from a larger cheer squad this year. "I think the biggest thing is our cheer team," he said, noting cheer participation rose from roughly 15–20 to about 36 students.

The athletic update concluded with trustees thanking staff for building program culture and for the emphasis on student development and inclusion. The presentation was informational; there were no motions tied to program changes during the meeting.