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Romulus AD outlines athletics rebuild: restored softball, baseball and girls flag football; focus on middle‑school pipeline
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Summary
Athletic Director Jurish told the board the department is rebuilding programs and hiring local coaches; restored teams include softball (17 players) and baseball (21 players), and a Detroit Lions partnership supports girls flag football (15 players). Jurish emphasized mandated middle‑school outreach and improved communications.
Athletic Director Jurish delivered a midseason update to the Romulus Community Schools board on April 13, saying the department is in the midst of a "rebuild" aimed at restoring sustainable programs by hiring coaches with local ties and strengthening middle‑school to high‑school pipelines.
Jurish summarized program restorations and participation figures: the softball program has been reestablished with 17 players; baseball has 21 players; and girls flag football, supported through a partnership with the Detroit Lions, has 15 players. "We're rebuilding programs. We're restoring opportunities that didn't exist," Jurish said, adding that strategic, community‑connected hires were central to those gains.
Jurish described steps to create a durable pipeline: requiring high‑school coaches to run camps and clinics for middle‑school students, holding open gyms, and having high‑school athletes engage with younger students. The AD said coaches and administrators are meeting to pilot club boys volleyball and to coordinate summer programming; he reported a recent trial that drew 10 participants for an initial boys‑volleyball practice.
The update included academic and student‑support items. Jurish noted the district’s athlete academic standard and recent changes: when asked, he said the district follows the Michigan High School Athletic association expectation and that "Romulus is 2.02" for the GPA standard as discussed in the meeting record. Jurish also described a scholar‑athlete recognition lunch for students with a 3.5 GPA or higher and said an after‑school tutoring program that required teams to attend study hall three times a week recently ended; he said he is exploring ways to restore structured study support.
Trustee Jackson pressed for earlier pipeline outreach, arguing work should start at sixth grade rather than waiting until eighth grade: "If we truly wanna build a pipeline, we should be starting with the sixth graders," Jackson said. Jurish agreed and described recent middle‑school engagement, including player visits and elementary‑school tournaments intended to introduce students to athletics early.
Jurish asked the board for patience and communication support as the department implements hires and program changes and said he will provide preseason and end‑of‑season reports. The board thanked the AD for the presentation and offered suggestions on marketing and community outreach.
Next steps: Jurish said he will follow up on restoring study‑hall supports, finalize club‑sport pilots and coordinate marketing plans with district staff.
