Albany Center Gallery celebrates 50 years of hip-hop:
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/ca...ip-hop-exhibit
Fred Wheeler’s winding athletic career brings him to Jamesville-DeWitt(a Nottingham High grad): ‘It’s more home than anywhere else’:
https://www.syracuse.com/highschools...here-else.html
https://www.syracuse.com/resizer/CYg...2MQQ4J2FFE.jpg
"Occasionally, Fred Wheeler will stand still long enough to enjoy a competitive game of darts.
On rare family vacations, he enjoys water activities such as jet skiing and scuba diving.
Other than those infrequent diversions, very little during the past three decades has drawn Wheeler’s attention away from helping Section III coaches and athletes.
He has coached in the Syracuse City School District since 1994, working with girls basketball, football, boys lacrosse, boys basketball, indoor and outdoor track and boys and girls volleyball programs at Corcoran, ITC and Nottingham.''
“I don’t stop,” is Wheeler’s summary of his philosophy.
Now, Wheeler’s full energy is directed at a new challenge: the Jamesville-DeWitt athletic program.
Wheeler was recently named athletic director of the Red Rams, replacing John Goodson. Wheeler takes over CNY’s powerhouse program, one that earned the title of athletic program of the year award at syracuse.com’s All-CNY sports awards show.
Wheeler has the administrative background for the position. Besides coaching, he worked as the SCSD’s middle school athletic coordinator for 10 years and was also an independent evaluator for the district’s phys ed department.
Although Wheeler’s athletic roots start in Nottingham (he was a standout basketball and football player at the school), the DeWitt area was something of a second home. He had many close friends from the area, and his mother and wife attended J-D. Now, his two children, junior Bryce and freshman Samantha, are athletes in the district. Wheeler has also worked with the J-D youth sports program for several years.
“I’ve always felt that the J-D community, growing up, has always been very welcoming, friendly, very honest,” he said. “I just have always had nothing but positive, great experiences here. And I’ve always felt like it just fits me naturally. It’s more home than anywhere else for me. The easiest way to say it, I’m an east-side guy. Always have been.”
Wheeler recently took a break from the preparation legwork of his new position to review his athletic journey.
Why this is the right move for him now
“I think that I have done all I could do for the Syracuse City School District. And when this position opened up ... last year it was just voted the No. 1 sports program in Section III. It’s also the No. 1 sports program in New York State for small schools. That was a huge attraction, along with my kids going to school here. Through the years of me working JDYA and having my own kids, just the amount of support and energy that the school district provides for the kids, and the parents’ support, and the athletic administrators, and Dr. (Peter) Smith’s goals for his own school district I think really aligned with what I want to do. I just want an opportunity to work with the top program.”
How his extensive resume plays into his new job
“I think my vast experience just gives me the ability to draw on my past successful experiences and things that I’ve seen throughout my career and hopefully be able to pass on advice, maybe collaborate with coaches, give some insight on things that we can look at to maybe make improvements. I just think my wealth and depth as a coach gives me the experience to help lead other coaches. Hopefully the J-D coaches, when they get a chance to get to know me, they’ll know that I’m pro-coach, that I want the kids to get the best experience.”
His potential impact on the program
“I think one of my top goals for this program would be to keep the success and keep the traditions that they’ve had, the rich traditions of winning and success and building strong leaders. I also think one of the things that I can bring to listening to a lot of the parents is just being more involved and communicating well with parents and families and players. Being a voice, someone they can call, someone they can see. I think that improving communication will be something I want to take a look at. I know this year my biggest goal is to make sure that the athletic department and all the coaches, that we’re all communicating effectively with everybody. I’m always here to listen.”
Reflections on his coaching career
“I think once you’re a coach you’re always a coach. I will always miss coaching. But to me, the success was always having fun with the kids, enjoying the time with the kids, the players that you work with, the students that you have in school. I think that, for me, was the best part. Kids still see me, when they see me in the mall they come run up and talk to me. They say hello.
“I’ve put over 200 kids in college to various schools like Villanova, Cornell, Boston College. A number of them playing at Syracuse. So I think that’s ultimately been my goal as a coach. The No. 1 thing that I’m most proud of is helping the school community that I grew up in. There were minority Black male coaches that helped me get where I am today. I think when I graduated and come back and had that opportunity, the biggest role for me was to help put students in the Syracuse City School District into college.”
The reward of working with youngsters
“I think it was the positive experience I had in my own past. I just think those positive experiences helped me become a successful male, Black role model that I am now. I just think that’s kind of the joy. You see these kids in school every day, you work with these kids, you see them in the community. There’s nothing better than when you see a kid actually go through and grow as a young person and become the successful person they are when they’re winning games, losing games, when they graduate to go to college. That’s what success is about for me. Helping those kids be successful and finding their goals.”
The change in athletes
“From a coaching perspective, I think it’s very important you grow as a coach and as a teacher. And I think one way to do that is professional development. I’ve run a number of professional developments in my old school district. And I think you have to take a look at what you have. The days of coaching in the 90s when I first started was very direct. This information age with the kids being able to watch videos and having more training and individual training is something new. So I think as a coach if you want to be successful you have to continue to grow your coaching style.
“The world is changing. So to be a successful coach in any program I think you have to take the time to reflect. After every season, I’ve always reflected on what I did. I think every kid is different. I think expectations and rules need to be established but how you work with each individual kid is really ... the elite coaches know how to get to every single player.”
His future in high school sports
“I have zero interest in going anywhere else. This is it for me. This is where I want to go. This is where I want to be. I have friends who coach here. I’ve had great relationships with people in the community here. I never thought this, in a million years, would have been an opportunity that would be in front of me. Where I can help out (with his coaches), I will. But I have to give my own coaches their opportunity to be successful.”
Jamesville-DeWitt is a highly regarded suburban SD east of Syracuse, that has been one that local black middle class families historically may move to.
From the Syracuse based Central Current Radio podcast under the Community FM umbrella associaed with WCNY hosted by a local radio legend with a local clergy member:
Central Current Radio – Rev. Roosevelt Baums |WCNY
Another episode with a local journalist that is a part of the black owned Urban CNY/the constitution newspaper:
Central Current Radio – Ken Jackson |WCNY
YAnother Community FM podcast, On The One:
On the One LIVE!, Episode 2 – The Frank White Experience |WCNY (the group has roots in Syracuse and Rochester:
https://www.frankwhiteexp.com/)
As mentioned in the Destiny USA thread in the Syracuse forum, this is the associated business:
https://ontheonecny.com/
https://ontheonecny.com/dj-bella-j (there is actually a pretty big DJ culture that has been growing in the area with people like DJ Maestro, DJ Big Hype, DJ Flagg, DJ Geta, etc.)
Some events in Rochester from the locally black owned WDKX radio:
https://wdkx.com/events/
It includes this pretty big event in a little under a couple of weeks: https://www.rocsummersoulfest.com/
Some radio shows from WKNY/Radio Kingston in Kingston:
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadcast/the-black-meta
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadca...dicine-journey
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadca...h-alex-simmons
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadcast/we-got-next
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadcast/blues-people
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadcast/miss-v-show
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadcast/hip-hop-101
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadca...ifferent-radio
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadca...s-energy-radio
https://radiokingston.org/en/broadca...-in-the-valley
A few shows on WFRA in Jamestown:
https://www.wrfalp.com/show/gospel-doings/
https://www.wrfalp.com/show/da-platform/
https://www.wrfalp.com/show/ywca-jamestown-broadscast/
https://www.wrfalp.com/show/da-unwind/
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Saturday morning radio shows from
