Thursday, June 18, 2015: Sindoni returning to Skaneateles as head football coach

   Leading off today: Joe Sindoni will have a leg up on most new high school coaches this fall. Skaneateles' new football coach already knows his way around the school because he also happens to be the school's old football coach.

   Sindoni's appointment was approved Tuesday by the Skaneateles school board to replace Mike Olley, who'll continue to help out in the program but was seeking more time to focus on earning an administrative degree. Sindoni was a Skaneateles assistant under Tim Green and served as head coach in 2012 before leaving to become head coach at Cicero-North Syracuse.

   Sindoni had two solid years at C-NS but was not retained for the upcoming season; Syracuse.com reports he intended to return to Skaneateles as an assistant before Olley decided to step aside.

   "I'm excited," Sindoni told the website. "I had a great experience when I was here the last time. Through all the highs and lows, I really enjoyed my time. I made a lot of great relationships. I kept in touch with those people. I'm really excited to go back and excited to get back to building the program."

   Gatorade picks Watson: Rush-Henrietta sophomore Sammy Watson has been named Gatorade's New York athlete of the year in girls track on the heels of her amazing 400/1,500 double over the weekend in the state championships at SUNY Albany.

   She's the first Section 5 recipient of Gatorade's award in the sport since Karen Elliot of Penfield in 1993.

   In case you missed it: Robert Zayas, executive director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, was a guest on the Canandaigua National Bank & Trust High School Sports Show, hosted by Jeff DiVeronica of the Democrat and Chronicle, over the weekend.

   He touched on several subjects, including the new statewide ball contract with Spalding that figures to result in a substantial amount of money for the respective sections across the state and important changes to the coaches certification process in New York.

Very close to announcing an alternative coaching certification pathway; making it easier & less expensive to become a coach in NY. #NYSPHSAA

— Robert Zayas (@RobertZayasNY) June 17, 2015

   He's scholarship material: Auburn High senior Daniel Cummins has been named the Leo A. Pinckney Scholarship Award winner, the New York-Penn League announced. The cross country and track captain is also the class salutatorian and a volunteer at Auburn Community Hospital, The Citizen reported.

   The scholarship, named after longtime Citizen sports editor Leo Pinckney, is awarded based on academics, athletic achievements and financial needs.

   "The thing I'm most proud of is being able to be a role model that shows the younger guys what you have to be successful," Cummins told the paper. "You have to make a lot of sacrifices to be successful in distance running."

NYSPHSAA boys lacrosse NYSPHSAA girls lacrosse NYSPHSAA baseball NYSPHSAA softball Past years' brackets

   He plans to study biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California in the fall.

   'Mega-league' update: The idea hasn't been on the fast track, but there has been recent talk about a regional super conference for private-school football programs in the Northeast to help ease the annual problems with piecing together schedules at the individual schools. Canisius, coming off a state CHSAA championship last fall, is one of the schools that has been mentioned as a potential member.

   A story out of Cleveland, however, points out that there's a substantial roadblock for Ohio schools such as St. Ignatius and St. Edward. The state's sanctioning body limits travel by member schools to one trip per season beyond a bordering state or Canada, which would make scheduling New Jersey and Maryland schools a problem.

   Extra points: Nice "get" by Niagara University, which got a commitment from recent Long Island Lutheran graduate Marvin Prochet. The 6-foot-6 forward was a bit overshadowed on his own team last season, but three-star recruits are tough to come by for mid-majors in mid-June.

   Archbishop Stepinac baseball coach Pat Duffy announced his retirement this month after 2-5 wins in just 11 seasons. Stepinac was 17-9 this spring and will be coached next season by Keith Richardson, who has been with the program since 2004.

   The 2015 New York State High School Softball Hall of Fame induction ceremony is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Mudville Softball Complex in Herkimer.

   New Jersey is a step closer to making into law a proposal that would require defibrillators at municipal or county recreation departments and nonprofit youth sporting events. Organizations would have to certify the at least one umpire, coach or licensed athletic trainer qualified in CPR and the use of an AED is available at each contest.