This is not your mother’s bake sale. At least, not anymore. No more two-for-one cupcakes or a box of Entenmanns. Today, the role of high school sports booster clubs is far more involved and far more important. They are instrumental to the success of a program. Some might even say more sophisticated, given their responsibilities. They are a support system. Booster clubs take some of the weight off a coach’s plate – pardon the pun. “Regarding their impact, they have been a tre

Putnam County has five high schools, and three of them will have a new football coach when the 2026 season starts this month. Brewster, Carmel, and Putnam Valley will all have new men on the sidelines with the headphones. And Brewster kept it in the family. Ryan Cleary, who is the head boys’ lacrosse coach in the spring, will be calling the shots for the Bears’ football program in the fall. He takes over for Ed Mulvihill. Victor Chiappa is now the head coach at Putnam Valley,

My first job as a sports journalist was to cover high school athletics, so I have a soft spot for high school athletes – even though I have since covered two Super Bowls, two World Series, NCAA championships in football and basketball, and countless other sports. Lest you think I’m bragging, I’m not. I even once covered a horseshoe pitching tournament. It turned out to be one of the most fun experiences of my life. But I believe high school athletes deserve recognition and pu