Hi, my name is Mike Gehrer. In July of 1990 I was hired as the Athletic Director, Head Football Coach, and Head Baseball Coach by then Headmaster Leonard Kupersmith. He told me that my number one priority was to create an athletic environment that would make the current Collegiate students want to stay, while at the same time attracting other students to our campus.
The first thing I recognized when my first school year started was that it was cool to be smart, it was cool to be in fine arts, and tennis and golf were very successful programs. But also, the student body didn’t have much school spirit at all. Believe it or not, but no one was wearing Collegiate spirit wear, not even a T-shirt. There wasn’t a pep band, there wasn’t a dance team, and there were very few cheerleaders. We didn’t have a baseball or softball team, we didn’t have girls soccer, we didn’t have swimming, and we didn’t have bowling. Coach Fiegel was in his second year as Head Boys Basketball Coach and was just starting to build the basketball powerhouse that we have all become accustomed to.
So, we got to work, and through the efforts of many students, administrators, parents, teachers, and coaches, we created the environment of community spirit that exists today. A spirited culture can be a very fleeting thing, though. It takes constant work and commitment behind the scenes by many to keep it going positively. Thanks to our community's dedication and drive, today’s WCS culture makes it cool to be smart, cool to be in fine arts, cool to be in athletics, cool to be a cheerleader, cool to be in dance, and cool to be in band. And as a result, we all have a ton of Spartan spirit and pride.
As I walk campus today and see blue and gold around every corner, I am very proud of what has been accomplished over the past 33 years. Our winning spirit and attitude shows in all aspects of the school.