Angela McLennan becomes new T-burg athletic director

Angela McLennan has been a staple of the Trumansburg community since she started working in the school district in 1996. She’s best known for being the head coach of the volleyball team for the past two decades and maintaining their proud history of success. This year, McLennan is taking on an even bigger role.

McLennan is the Blue Raiders’ new athletic director, something she’s very much enjoyed so far and will certainly continue to enjoy once the regular season rolls around.

“I feel like it’s a new challenge for me,” McLennan said. “I’ve been so focused on one particular sport in the fall, and now I’ll get to get out and go in and see all the rest of the sports that are participating this fall. I’m really excited to work with all the student athletes, and not just the volleyball athletes.”

McLennan explained why she decided to throw her hat into the ring for a position that she’s wanted to take on for the longest time.

“When the position came available, I’ve kind of always had aspirations to be the athletic director,” McLennan said. “The position came available this year, and it was a teacher on special assignment. Because I don’t have my administrative degree, I was contemplating it, but I knew that I was going to have to give up coaching if that was the case, and it kind of just felt like the right time to transition into a different role in my life.”

Being an athletic director can be quite hectic. It naturally comes with wearing many hats, such as making sure there’s officials for home games and buses for away games. Luckily, McLennan has plenty of support to rely on, including former athletic director Jason Hodge.

“Jason actually has come in a couple of times this summer and helped me out with some of the different programs that I’m using, so he’s been a huge, huge asset,” McLennan said. “I’ve kind of leaned on him the most. I have also reached out to [IAC Executive Director] Cathy [Haight] for different purposes, as well. The high school principal, Megan Conaway, is my direct supervisor, so I’ve been working with her too and leaning on her a bunch to figure out what are the logistics of the buildings and what we can use and can’t use and that sort of stuff.”

While McLennan has been working in Trumansburg for so long, she actually hails from one of their biggest rivals: Lansing. Like her hometown, McLennan knows what goes into a passionate community for high school sports.

“I think it starts with the coaching staff setting a good culture for our student-athletes and their teams specifically,” McLennan said. “And by setting that culture, then we bring it to the parents, and we have a great parent support in our community, great sports booster club. Parents are always willing to step up and help out in any sort of way. I think those two things working together is what creates the culture. I think the leadership from the athletic director also sets it, and I feel like I’m in a good position now to help guide any of the new coaches.”

One of those new coaches will take over the volleyball program that McLennan led to multiple IAC and sectional titles. Rebecca Dann is the new head coach after spending the last six years as the junior varsity coach and has also coached the modified team. McLennan knows she’s leaving the team in very safe hands.

“She has a lot of background knowledge,” McLennan said. “She was a collegiate volleyball player, so I’m really confident that she will be able to continue the legacy of Trumansburg volleyball. I’m not going to be too far away either. I’ve been running workouts all summer for these girls. I want to stay involved but also allow Rebecca to create her own path because it’s hard for me to let it go, but I take great pride in what I’ve been able to accomplish since 2004.”

It’s been a busy summer for McLennan, one that has been successful in terms of achieving some early goals. She was able to obtain Hudl as a streaming system so anyone can tune into the games. She also helped bring back a varsity wrestling program this winter that is still in need of a coach. As for longer-term goals, McLennan has a significant one in mind.

“I really hope to work more with all the student-athletes and promote more character into our programs,” McLennan said. “I feel like in the past few years, there’s been a lull in sportsmanship where opinions are being flown by parents and spectators alike, and so kids are seeing all this by adults. [We’re] really working on building good character and how to be a good sport is the goal for all of the programs here at Trumansburg, and so I’m hoping to have a hand in that.”