Leading off today: Ed Grezinsky, the immensely successful girls basketball coach at Murry Bergtraum, has announced his resignation from the Manhattan school after 15 PSAL league titles -- consecutively in a streak snapped last season -- and five New York State Federation titles,
The Daily News reported Thursday.
Grezinsky, 60, notified Bergtraum principal Naima Cook of his decision late last month and termed the decision a resignation rather than a retirement. Grezinsky, who began coaching at the PSAL school in 1991 and sent literally dozens of players to Division I colleges on scholarship, said he started thinking about resigning over the summer before seriously considering it a few weeks ago.
"I just felt it was the right time," Grezinsky said. "My gut feeling initially was to stay another year but as I went along I was tired and it's a big job."
One factor in his decision is that Bergtraum recently was divided into multiple "schools" in the same building, creating more administrative turnover on a campus that's already experienced plenty of that in recent years.
Grezinsky, a retired teacher, won his first title at Bergtraum in 1999 by beating powerful August Martin. The run ended with a loss to Francis Lewis in the 2014 semifinals.
Girls hockey comes to Rochester: Though the Buffalo area has a growing high school league and a handful of other schools across the state field girls ice hockey programs, Bishop Kearney High School is getting into the sport in a big way to introduce the sport in Rochester.
But it won't be at the scholastic level.
Kearney officials announced Thursday they will begin an elite girls program next fall, recruiting top players from around the world and housing them in the school's vacant third-floor dormitory. The program will be run by Legacy Global Sports, which operates similar programs in Europe and Canada. There will be 20 girls the first year for an under-16 team; the second year there will be two teams, an under-16 and an under-19.
Players will attend classes at Kearney and pay a separate fee to be part of the hockey program.
"This unique program gives elite hockey players from all around the world exposure to the high-level academics we offer here at Bishop Kearney, all in a nurturing environment where they can pursue both their academic and athletic dreams," Bishop Kearney President Thomas O'Neil said in a statement.
The school's administration bought its building earlier this year, enabling it to renovate the dormitories where the school's teachers used to live. With more space available than the hockey program will need, O'Neil said there have been preliminary discussions about bringing in boarding athletes in other sports.
