Written Friday July 11th at 9:30 AM
The Ravens have a new athletic director.
Royal Oak has named Derek Smith as their new athletic and activities director. He takes over for Daniel Russell after he moved to Jenison and took on a role in the west side of the state.
C&G Newspapers, the MHSAA website, and Royal Oak Schools confirmed the move.
Smith was a teacher since 2002 and athletic director at Utica since 2003. He began his new role on July 1st.
"We are pleased to welcome Derek Smith as the new director of athletics and activities (DAA) for Royal Oak schools. Smith is a Royal Oak native, Derek brings with him a wealth of experience as both an Athletic Director and teacher from Utica Community Schools. His energetic leadership strong belief in power and collaboration will be an asset to our schools" Royal Oak Schools said in a statement.
Smith brings a ton of experience to Royal Oak ranging from different things. He will bring a new ideas and new things to an athletic department that has been going through some changeover in recent years but has had recently seen some success. The girls basketball program has won two straight district crowns under Coach Brian Sopota while the boys basketball program went to the district finals under Coach Aaron Smith last season. The softball program has experienced some success at Royal Oak as well.
There are some successful programs at Royal Oak. Smith according to the C&G Newspapers story has been responsible for academically tracking more than 400 student athletes every year when he was at Utica and met both theirs and the MHSAA standards.
"All of us at Royal Oak Schools look forward to Mr. Smith bringing his wealth and knowledge to Royal Oak, his hometown. We know that his past experiences and community connections will straighten our athletic and academic activities initiatives as he builds our programs to greatness, we are thrilled to have him on board" said Royal Oak High School principal Don Loomis.
Smith joins Todd Negoshian (Stoney Creek) and the OAA family as new athletic directors into the league this school year.
Royal Oak Schools Press Release.
https://www.royaloakschools.org/whats_new/new_leaders_to_r_o_h_s_and_r_o_m_s
Here is the C&G Newspapers story.
https://www.candgnews.com/news/royal-oak-schools-announces-new-director-of-athletics-activities-8628
Royal Oak MHSAA page
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