by Lauren Hickey, Gianna Giacinto
and Amanda Ryan

Mainland’s staff has changed significantly over the past year including Mr. Mark Marrone becoming principal and Mr. Kevin Burns vice principal. Another notable hire is the new Athletic Director (AD) Mike Gatley, an MRHS alumnus, class of 1980.

Previously, he was the AD for Hammonton Public Schools. Before Mr. Gatley arrived, it may not have been exactly clear from a student’s perspective what role an AD played in our sports teams' success. Sure coaches have to interact with an AD to deal with scheduling issues, but in a lot of schools student athletes have little interaction with this member of the staff.

At MRHS this all changed with Mr. Gatley’s arrival. With Gatley's hands-on approach, it is common to see him at practices giving pep talks and pushing athletes to challenge themselves. While high expectations are part of the reason Mr. Gatley was able to support a number of State championship teams at Hammonton, being an alumnus and member of the MRHS community may have added to his intensity.

"This is the only other place I would ever have worked," said Mr. Gatley. "Leaving Hammonton never entered my mind, but when this opportunity arose, I had to take it. Mainland is my home."

Prior to becoming an athletic director, Mr. Gatley coached both at the high school and college levels. This experience made him appreciate how much time and energy coaches put into their teams. "During the season you spend a lot of time on the road traveling with the team," said Mr. Gatley. "I missed a lot of important events with my oldest child and I wanted to avoid missing those opportunities with my younger children."

To make this happen, Mr. Gatley made the move from coaching to being an athletic director. From Mr. Gatley's perspective, he could still support high school athletics without all the travel. "I know how much our coaches pour into their teams," said Mr. Gatley. "I've been there and appreciate how important they are to our school community."

High expectations are a critical part of Mr. Gatley's approach to athletics at MRHS. He hopes that every coach starts the season with a State Championship being the goal. Looking back at his own high school experience, Mr. Gatley says that he didn't have much natural ability on the basketball court. However, with hard work and dedication he was able to play at the varsity level and eventually at college. "I had very little talent, but was determined to contribute to my teams' success," said Mr. Gatley. "The only way I could do this was by working harder than everyone else. This is what I want our athletes to understand more than anything else."

If Mr. Gatley never came to Mainland, it is unlikely that MRHS would have ever won the Under Armour Challenge. He entered MRHS into the contest and along with Ms. Jaclyn Roesch, MRHS teacher, helped organize student efforts to complete all the contest challenges. As the Under Armour Undeniable Champion, MRHS beat out about 600 schools from across the country and was awarded $100,000 worth of sports equipment and $40,000 for the student council.