BAY CITY, MI – Grant Hegenauer is not new to Bay City and certainly isn’t new to sports.
But when he took the helm of Bay City Public Schools as its new superintendent this school year, he got a fresh perspective of both.
Hegenauer came to BCPS after four years as superintendent at Frankenmuth Schools and also spent time as a teacher, principal and athletic director during stops at Byron and Montrose. A 1988 graduate of the now-consolidated Eisenhower High School in Saginaw, where he played soccer, hockey and baseball, he went on to coach varsity hockey and soccer at Holly and Swartz Creek.
He also served as the first varsity boys soccer coach at Bay City Western when the program was launched in 1995.
His return to Bay City comes at a time when the BCPS sports program needs a boost. Programs are struggling, facilities are aging and there is turnover at head coach of Bay City Central football. Hegenauer recently sat down with MLive for a sports-topic Question & Answer session, which is being presented in three parts.
This is the first of the three-part series.
What importance do you put on winning at the high school level in a sports program?
“I do think winning is important. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t call it competitive sports. And it should matter, but it also should reflect that our student-athletes are prepared, they’re putting forth strong effort, they’re disciplined, and they’re committed not only to the program but to their teammates. So, sharing the importance of teamwork, sharing the importance of collaboration, sharing the importance of picking that next man up or that next woman. It’s not just building winning, so to speak, but it’s building success in life.”
How do you, as superintendent, intend to impact the Bay City Public Schools sports programs?
“Always seeking and retaining high-quality coaches and instructors, that’s first and foremost. We have to put the best people possible in front of students, during the day as teachers and also extracurricular, whether it’s athletics or fine arts. No. 2, as superintendent, it’s important to continuously improve the athletic facilities, making sure that they are safe, that they are modern, and that they are comparable to our neighboring districts and districts that are in our league. And lastly, it’s important to work closely with the community to develop and strengthen our feeder programs that come into our schools, whether it’s Western or Central. That’s very important and that’s something we need to look at, building continuity and skill development with strong partnerships with those feeder programs.”
How important are athletic facilities to a program and what kind of commitment is being made to upgrade those in Bay City?
“It’s very important to have (strong facilities) for competitive and successful programs. Upgrading facilities definitely is not a short-term fix, but it is a long-term commitment to the students. And there needs to be a vision as well as a priority list, making sure that things are well-maintained for all sports. My recent take on where we’ve been the last couple years, I think they have made a lot of progress. We’re about to dedicate the new weight room at Bay City Central. That is an area that all students can use to promote physical fitness and health. We’ve been working on the track and surrounding outdoor area at Western. At Handy, we have new accessible bleachers… Even simple equipment upgrades like pole vault and high jump pits that dated back to the 1990s.
“The facilities themselves — and we know this – do direct participation. They definitely impact program stability and sustainability as well as competition within our league and our region. The one thing that makes it difficult with a large district – and people have got to remember — is that we have over 200 acres of grounds that we have to maintain and 1.1 million square feet of building space. Despite these challenges, whenever possible, we do try to upgrade facilities. And you’re going to see some of that coming in the next couple years.
“We’re looking at it from a holistic approach and trying to hit the critical priorities first and then try to do other enhancements next. Despite the challenges, we are committed to exploring innovative funding solutions. We don’t want to do it entirely on the backs of taxpayers. You can look at two districts close to us that have had significant bond failures for the fact that they were so much more driven on exterior space than on interior needs. You’ve got to be very cognizant of not putting a burden on the taxpayers and, at the same time, earmarking some money along the way so you’re continuously able to improve.”
What can be done to enhance the sports programs at the elementary and middle schools?
“It’s important to realize that Bay City Public Schools actually have a pretty vibrant elementary feeder program. We offer flag football, basketball, and volleyball at grades 3-5. And one thing that we do that other local districts don’t is ours is free of charge. We do not charge our families because we want them to experience what the sport might be like and try to get the kids involved at an early age. It’s all about getting the kids involved and excited and engaged in a sport — or multiple sports — and sticking with it, so we see them all the way to high school.
“We have an MHSAA-sponsored (sports program) at the middle school level as well. But I really highlight that feeder system at elementary because, No. 1, every elementary school participates in it and there are no cuts. Everyone at least has the opportunity to gain experience and exposure. It gets kids kind of excited and focusing on what it could be like to be an athlete.
“My goal would be that when we have a sport, like flag football, that we have our football coaches and possibly some of our varsity athletes there helping out. I’m going to go back to that exposure, that accessibility, the visibility of our high school athletes, because they’re the true role models. The young kids see them as that. That’s who they want to be. That’s where they want to be one day on Friday night — on the court, under the lights, in the pool.
“The hard part is the programs outside of the school. If we can get a community-focused, community-based, community ed-type program. There were so many kids who were born and bred on those community ed programs. And, unfortunately, as times got tough, the first thing they pulled the plug on was community ed. The kids who came up through community ed were some of our best athletes that we saw walk through the halls. If we could find something like that today, that would be our magic bean.”
Be sure to catch Part 2 of this three-part series Thursday