September 10,1992
Currie explores career change
Doug Brumley
Sports Editor
It was September, 1974.
Gayle Currie had graduated from
UNC-G only four months earlier,
and had just been hired as head
coach of volleyball and women's
basketball at Guilford College.
July 1,1992. Eighteen years later,
Currie is named interim athletic
director of Guilford College.
After serving under three athletic
directors and taking on several
various responsibilities during her
stay at Guilford—coaching women's
basketball, coaching volleyball,
coaching women's tennis, serving as
assistant athletic director, as well as
working in intramurals—Gayle
Currie has finally reached the top of
the athletic department ladder.
The position—which opened
when Phil Roach left early in the
summer to join the athletic depart
ment of Rollins College—has
already proved to be an educational
one for Currie.
"You would think after 18 years
of being in an institution that you
would know pretty much about it,"
said Currie.
"I have already learned so much
being on the other side of the desk
about what happens at this institution
that you just don't know about when
you're involved in the world of
coaching."
Making that transition from one
side of the desk to the other is going
Women's soccer team
blanked by Randolph-Macon
Doug Brum ley
Sports Editor
The Guilford College women's
soccer team received rude wel
come to the 1992 season from a
strong Randolph-Macon squad last
Saturday, losing their opener 8-0.
Randolph-Macon, who finished
last season as conference champion,
may be even better this year, ac
cording to Quaker Head Coach Pam
Howe.
"I think we played well for our
first game," said Howe.
"We have twelve new people and
I think that it takes a little time to get
everybody in communication."
As Howe sees it, thai communi
cation is the key factor in determin
ing the success of the team. She
plans to continue work on basic
passing, receiving, and controlling
drills that will improve this commu
nication in the future.
Howe also plans to work on the
team's conditioning.
As for the game last Saturday,
Howe credits the defense as being
to be the biggest challenge, accord
ing to Currie.
"As a coach, we live with
emotion. Our careers are built
around being emotional, being
intense, being driven. And I think
administrators are definitely driven
but in a more low key. So I am
trying to de-program myself from
being a coach to being an adminis
trator."
And a major aspect of life as an
administrator is meetings.
"I have an awful lot of meetings to
go to which is a big challenge for me
because it's a big time-consumer,"
said Currie.
"But they're informative and
helpful in learning more about how
the college works as a whole and
how the athletic department is just a
piece of that."
Besides meetings, Currie's duties
include ensuring the department's
compliance with all NCAA
regulations, representing the school
at the NCAA convention, working
with the Quaker Club—the group of
Guilford athletic boosters, budget
ing, scheduling, and performing
other day-to-day duties such as
informing staff and student-athletes
of the latest institutional and NCAA
guidelines.
One of Cume's goals as athletic
director is to "make sure that every
student-athlete on our teams knows
that I am sincerely interested in
getting to know them as a person."
Working as A.D. will give Currie
the strongest point of the team.
"Even though we lost 8-0,1 think
[the defense] played a good game
and worked very, very hard."
Goaltender Melanie Ray, al
though letting eight balls gel past
her, turned away 35 shots.
The Quaker offense mustered
three shots, none of which found
their way into the net.
Howe was pleased with the per
formance of the newcomers to the
team.
"They played very well. I think
that the firstgame is always a jittery
thing. It was a long trip and I think
that the people adjusted very well
to It"
As far as the future is concerned,
Howe may look to make some
changes.
"We aren'l settled right yet in
our line-up, so probably a little bit
of the line-up will change."
The next women's soccer game
is at High Point on September 10.
Sports
Potpourri
the opportunity to observe the other
fall and spring sports she usually
misses while coaching volleyball or
women's tennis.
Another goal is to maintain the
level of interest and support from the
Quaker Club, which according to
Currie has been more active in the
last few years than ever.
"I want to know those people,
whether they pay $35 to join the
Quaker Club and support our
programs, or whether [they] give
over slooo—each of them is
important to me because they're
somebody that I know has an interest
in Guilford athletics and I appreciate
that And I want them to know how
much I, and the staff, appreciate
that."
Currie, as a result of her duties as
Director of Athletics, has had to cut
back on her involvement with the
two teams that she has coached for
the past several years—volleyball
and women's tennis.
Chuck McCracken has been
named associate head coach of
volleyball and former Guilford
tennis stand-out Emily King will
assume the role of associate head
tennis coach. Both will be working
on a volunteer basis.
"Chuck and Emily will be running
the actual practices, the day-to-day
activities—ordering of equipment,
making travel arrangements,
purchase orders, requisitions, getting
advances for meals—everything that
is involved with having practice or
Intramurals are coming! Intramurals are coming!
By Joe Wallace
Intramural Director Joyce Clark
expressed her anticipation for the
coming year at the first 1992-93 unit
representative meeting.
"This year's Intramural competi
tion could, and should be one of the
best years in recent memory," said
Clark.
With soccer slated to begin on
Wednesday, September 9th, and flag
football the following Tuesday,
Clark and the rest of the Intramural
staff have been working hard to
make this year's program a success,
and with enough support and
participation, it will be.
And participation does not appear
to be a problem. For soccer alone
there is enough interest to have
seven men's teams and five
women's teams—possibly six if
there turns out to be as much interest
as reported in Binford Hall. That
hall's two women's floors may be
separated into opposing teams,
according to Clark.
All of these teams seem to be
poised for the competition and this
year's soccer play should be
extraordinary. The same goes for
flag football, although at this time it
is not known exactly how many
teams will be participating.
As far as support goes, there are at
least twenty-one unit representatives,
getting the team to the match," said
Currie.
"I will basically oversee the
overall budgetary process and the
scheduling and the recruiting for
next year."
Currie may very well be returning
as full time head coach of those
teams next year. Her term as interim
athletic director expires July 1, -1993,
and a permanent selection will be
announced at that time. Currie's
name may or may not be in the
running for the permanent position.
"That depends on two things,"
said Currie.
"Number one would be,
when next spring comes, whether I
decide that this is something I want
to pursue on a permanent level. It's
an extremely demanding and
challenging job...lt's a great personal
growth opportunity for me, and after
nine or ten months I think I will have
a pretty good idea of whether it's
something I would like to consider
as a career change."
"I think, on the flip side, that the
college, after having nine or ten
months to look at how they feel it's
working for them, [could decide]
whether they would want to invite
me or have me to be considered as a
candidate for the job."
The structure of the position in
question may change, according to
Currie. The administration is
currently looking at several different
models, which, as an example, could
add teaching responsibilities to the
but more help is needed.
Referees are needed for both
soccer and flag football. An
officiating clinic is being held for
flag football on Monday, September
14th, in the Alumni Gym at 7p.m.
Anyone interested in officiating
flag football should attend the clinic,
and if you are unable to attend but
would still like to referee soccer or
flag football, please contact Joyce
Clark at her office in the Alumni
Gym. Any and all help is needed and
very much appreciated.
So what else is coming up for fall
Intramurals?
In addition to the usual soccer,
flag football, tennis, and volleyball,
the Schick Three-on-Three basket
ball tournament will take place in
December.
Also, for the first time, tentatively
scheduled for September 18th will
be the Guilford College Co-ed
kickball tournament More
information on this event will be
provided soon, but begin now
forming your teams of five men and
five women—or four men and six
women, if you want;—to participate
in what is sure to be a fun-filled day
of kicks, catches, and victories.
For more information about these
or other intramural events contact
Joyce Clark at her office in the
Alumni Gym or your Unit Represen
tative—conveniently listed here for
Zht (guiltortrian
Hk % Jjjjfl
Photo by John Bell
position of athletic director. Another
possible model, according to Currie,
is the combination of the positions of
director of athletics and director of
in tram urals.
"If I were to decide to become a
candidate," said Currie, "I think I
have had experience in each of those
areas, so that however it was
structured...l could possibly qualify."
Whether or not Currie finds
herself in the position of athletic
director this time next year, it is
obvious that she is concerned about
making a difference through her
performance as interim A.D. this
year.
Her goals of knowing each player
and booster on a more personal level
as well as her desire to see more
faculty and student interest in the
athletic events indicate her attempts
at increasing the community's
awareness of Guilford's athletic
department.
you. Then come out and enjoy the
fun, the excitement, and the thrill of
competition. \
INTRAMURAL
UNIT
REPRESENTATIVES
BEDFORD: lat JtsWilUce #1056
Tun Rindie #3os*;
2nd: Irane Kelly #30711
3rd: U* Murphee #3147
■ RYAN: Jan MitchoU #339
Omg Unadnwii
#34*B
Snh Keith #3*26
DAY HOPPS: Ry hem
2944162
Scott Sber
52*541
Ran Leooir
665-1830
ENGLISH: JtMtta (fcpler #3291
MILNER: lttN: BiDy Hrdicn #3645
I*S; Weync Will imo
•3620
2nd; ShercnUdd #3670
3rd: Randy Scon #3783
leSWOMB #3789
APAR fMENTS: Ooot ge Hmssilun
#>9l9
ALTERNATIVE HOUSING:
Suuo Little #2615
Wendy Mcßcynoidi
#2616
MARYHOBBS: KteWlker #3207
SHORE: ChrU Wottcrnu
#359*
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