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Farewell!
Well, this is it, it has come to an end. As I wrap up my course and have had time to reflect, I have learned so much from this experience and have come out of it with an amplitude of knowledge that I previously did not have. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend some time with Mr. Agnew and learn more about being an Athletic Director. My time with him only added to my interest of one day possibly becoming an athletic director, just like him.
I loved learning everything I wanted to know about being an Athletic Director and what it takes to become one. I hope you have learned something too, and maybe this blog has piqued your interest in this profession. If not, I hope you thought it was interesting getting this perspective, because no one has ever made a blog covering a high school athletic director. One thing that did not turn out as I expected was, I did not get to take any pictures or videos from inside the high school, which is a district policy. I wish I could have shared that with you, but I understand it is for the safety of the students.
In my opinion, these were my two best posts, and I think you’d agree with me as they were brimming with knowledge:
Alex Zanolle signing off! Thank you for following along!
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Video Profile of Scott Agnew
Scott Agnew is the Athletic Director at Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey. He is 55, from Westmont, New Jersey, and attended Haddon Township High School. He got his degree from Kutztown University. He has been at Cherokee for 31 years starting out as a social studies teacher and a coach, working his way up to assistant athletic director for two years before becoming the Athletic Director, where he has been in that chair for the last 13 years.
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Podcast with Scott Agnew
I conducted a podcast with Scott Agnew, Athletic Director at Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey. I asked him a few questions to gather more info regarding what an athletic director goes through. I also had him reflect on his time as Athletic Director so far.
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ThingLink Photo Gallery
I recently visited Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey on July 27, 2022. I toured the campus and took pictures and videos of their beautiful facilities to give you a glimpse of the grounds Scott Agnew graces every day.
Out front of Cherokee High School on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) Trail used for track on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football stadium on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football stadium on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football scoreboard on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football stadium on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee High School hurdle storage(Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Chiefs Softball Scoreboard(Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Football field on July 27, 2022 (Photo/Alex Zanolle) -
Q & A with Scott Agnew
I recently had the pleasure of conducting a Q & A with Scott Agnew who is the Athletic Director at Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey. He has been the athletic director there for the past 13 years and has led one of the most successful athletic departments in South Jersey. We dove deep into the life of an athletic director and everything that comes along with it.
Scott Agnew on the baseball field on July 27th, 2022. (Photo/Alex Zanolle) Where did you go to college?
Kutztown University
What did you major in?
So, I started out undecided and moved over to secondary ed which led me towards a license towards 6th grade through 12th grade specializing in social studies.
What made you want to become an athletic Director?
Well, you know my involvement in sports being a three sport athlete started way back in my childhood. I’ve obviously always been attracted to athletics, matter of fact, in my younger days that was my main reason for you know, wanting to go to college was to continue playing football. I soon realized, into my college years as you mature, the real reason that you’re in college is to knuckle down and to make sure that I was doing things right academically, to get on the right track. So that was a combination of both athletically and academics why I chose to continue my education at Kutztown University.
What is your favorite part of being an Athletic Director?
Everything that happens after 3 o’clock and we say that wholeheartedly, in the school building you’re into the grind of the day with regular education, and also I’m the assistant principal, so I have the duties of other assistant principals, in addition to my duties as an athletic director, but the real reward is watching the athletes do what they want to do out on the field and perform at a high-level behind great coaches who are passionate about what they do, so, definitely it’s supervising, monitoring the practices and competitions after the school day.
What advice would you give someone who wants to be an Athletic Director?
I often say that you know you really have to come through the ranks. One of the things that I believe, most athletics directors are successful once they come through as a teacher and a coach. often times as a teacher, you’re coaching in the classroom and when you’re out on the athletic field as a coach many times you’re teaching on the sport field so that combination I think having that kind of maturation for the years like I said, I was a coaching and teacher for almost 20 years before I moved to administration and I do believe that those years of that combination really helped me broaden my horizons to be a successful athletic Director.
What would you say is the hardest part of your job?
Managing irrational parents most of the time. It’s parents who do not have a realistic, often times, a realistic outlook on their child’s ability to play certain sport and it often times leads to conflict with the coaches that I have to get involved with that’s the most challenging part of the job and I think one of the most important things that I’ve done over the years as an athletic director, I’ve realized that communication is so critical, coaches communicating to these players constantly, daily, letting them know what they’re doing right, what you’re doing wrong, what they need to do to improve and letting them know their worth on each program, because that’s really what the kids want, they want to know what is their role on the team. Oftentimes they can accept that, but there are sometimes where they cannot and that’s unfortunate.
So as an Athletic Director, if you had a kid who was struggling with school and getting in trouble a lot, within your athletic department, how would you handle that?
I think it definitely, the old term “it takes village”, one of the things we do here administratively, everythings different, right, it’s one that’s kind of like a cookie cutter question and it’s a good question but, like you said when you have a struggling student what exactly is he struggling at? are there other factors weighing in why he is struggling, or she is struggling, just thinking of one of our student athlete football players who just recently graduated, and you know he came in as a freshman, had a lot of issues, he was working with another assistant principal, I worked with him, coaches worked with him to make sure that he stayed on the right track and he did end up being as successful a student athlete for us and he’s looking forward to going into college, and so we’re very excited about that. So to that end, you know, every situation’s different but we always try to get to the root of the problem and see what’s causing these problems, then address it on an individual basis.
Hear his answer here:
So bouncing off of that, what is the most rewarding part of your job?
I mean, I’m happy for the coaches, not that I have anything to do with any kind of championships, but I am so ecstatic for the coaches and the players. We had a lot of success with our girls track program this year, our girls basketball program, and all our programs. Win, lose or draw, you know, the competitions the comraderies what they’re going to enjoy, but you know, watching that enjoyment of those kids, and then a lot of teams give it their all, you need a lot of things to work in your favor to be able to win championships but when that happens I just feel us so happy for the coaches and players to be able to enjoy that success.
In your opinion, why are sports important for kids?
That’s an easy one, there’s so many kids that come into this building, that once they walk into a classroom, they don’t wanna be there right? They look forward to what they want to do. My son is the same way, if he didn’t have athletics, he would be a lost soul. I think it’s the carrot that keeps many of our kids, and it’s not only athletics, it’s the theater, it’s all different kinds of clubs, but it’s what schools offer, the extracurriculars that they offer to keep these kids motivated to keep coming to school to do what they need to do to get to an age and it’s all different to get to that age and say academics are important, that’s how I’m gonna have to be able to survive in this world and make some money to be able to pay the bills and not have to struggle. So, I think that’s where I land there.
Hear his answer here:
So as an athletic Director, you’re overseeing the athletic department, how do you want people to describe your program, and describe your tenure?
So obviously we want to have successful programs and that doesn’t mean winning championships. My successful programs are programs that at the end of the season, my optimum goal, does it always happen? Not all the time but that every kid has enjoyed that experience, not only the kids that play but also the kids who are those kids who are the so important to a team, that they are the workers who are practicing and then if they weren’t involved, those kids that are playing were not going to be able to be successful. So, in addition to that, we take pride that we have not had a player or coach disqualified in over I think it’s three or four years so sportsmanship is extremely important to me and with my coaches meetings, I stress that, and respecting each other. You’ll see some of the stuff that goes on in this state, in this country, with regards to hazing and bullying and that’s something that we continually discuss and it’s not something you do at the beginning of the season, it’s a constant discussion throughout the course of the year to make sure that those kids know what kind of culture we’re building here, that’s really what it is, I mean it’s not about Wins or losses and championships, it’s about how the kids feel about their season or their career at the end of each, and how school’s look at us as a conference, on how we conduct ourselves on the field.
Hear his answer here:
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Photos of my Beat
I went to Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey on July 27, 2022, to get a first-hand look at the school Scott Agnew works at. I was not permitted to take any photos inside the school, per district policy, but I took some photos of the first-class athletic fields on campus, Scott Agnew himself, and the main entrance to the school.
The north entrance, one of two main entrances to Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey, taken on July 27, 2022. Cherokee is home to over 2,000 students and offers 22 athletic programs. (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Scott Agnew, 55, is the Athletic Director at Cherokee High School, here he is posing for a picture on the baseball field on July 27, 2022. Scott Agnew is from Westmont, New Jersey. (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee High School Baseball field overlooking the school in Marlton, New Jersey on July 27, 2022. It is home to one of the best group 4 high school baseball programs in the state. (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
Cherokee Chiefs logo at midfield of William H. Foltz stadium on July 27, 2022. The stadium is the main attraction in Marlton, New Jersey on Friday nights during the fall. (Photo/Alex Zanolle) 
The track surrounding the football field on a sunny day at Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey on July 27, 2022. It is home to one of the most successful programs in the area. (Photo/Alex Zanolle) -
Find Out More
NJ.com has a Cherokee athletics page that includes all 22 sports with their schedules, rosters, standings, stats, etc. Stay up to date with how they are doing in the future.
This website is made by athletic directors, for athletic directors. Its goal is to provide insight and knowledge from other athletic directors to empower current and/or future ones. There’s a plethora of knowledge and ample opportunities for connections on this website
Cherokee Athletics official website
Cherokee has a website for all their sports with everything you need to know.
Follow along with Cherokee High School’s twitter for everything Cherokee related.
Scott Agnew has won prestigious awards in his tenure at Cherokee.
Cherokee High School newspaper
Hear from the kids of Cherokee High School in their student newspaper.
Photo/Kevin Minnick | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Check out my Twitter and follow me!
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Who am I and why am I doing this?
Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! My name is Alex Zanolle, and I am currently a Senior at Rowan University majoring in Sports Communication. I am from Haddonfield, New Jersey and attended Haddonfield Memorial High School. My biggest passion in the world is sports, as I have played baseball my entire life. I have a relentless passion for sports, which has impacted my life in such a great way and has made me into the man I am today. Sports have the innate ability to mold you into an adult and teach you imperative life lessons that you can use to be successful in life. Without playing sports, I would not be the man I am today. I am currently taking Digital Journalism at Rowan and our assignment is to pick a beat to blog about for the semester. I have always had the dream of pursuing a career that is sports oriented, as I could not imagine myself doing anything else. It’s my life, so I thought it’d be immensely interesting to go into detail as to what it’s like being a High School Athletic Director. Also, I have never seen anyone do anything like this, so it will provide a prospective never before seen. In High School, I was always intently curious as to what it was like being an Athletic Director, and it piqued my interest. This website is dedicated to going behind the scenes with Scott Agnew, who is the Athletic Director at Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey. As I progress, I hope to learn about what it took for him to become an athletic director, exactly what the job entails at Cherokee High, and the ins and outs of the job that I’ve always wondered about. Getting a first-hand account from an actual Athletic Director will be invaluable. I plan to provide audio and visual content of everything in my time with him. I hope you find my blog to be useful in gaining knowledge to maybe one day become an athletic director too! Let’s learn together!
Also, follow Mr. Agnew’s athletic department:
Check out my Twitter!
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Behind the Scenes of a High School Athletic Director 