The Schreiber physical education and athletics department has a new addition this year.  Mr. Nick Schratwieser is the new assistant director of health, physical education, and athletics.  

In addition to helping Athletic Director Ms. Stephanie Johannan prepare for the upcoming sports seasons, he also supervises the health and physical education teachers across the district and offers resources for those teachers.  Many students may not be familiar with him now, but as sports seasons begin in Jan., Mr. Schratwieser will become a very familiar face.  

A native of Massapequa, he is very familiar with Long Island high school sports.

“I used to coach in Jericho and Locust Valley, so we would play similar teams that Port plays, so I’m familiar with the area,” said Mr. Schratwieser.   

While growing up in Massapequa, he played lacrosse and football for Massapequa High School.  Like many high schoolers, Mr. Schratwieser struggled to decide between his many passions, such as law and sports.  His football coach and gym teacher helped him realize he wanted to go into physical education.  He always loved what he did and had a smile on his face. 

 “That’s the kind of career I wanted to get into.  I wanted to be happy every single day,” said Mr. Schratwieser.   

 After attending Salisbury University, he worked as a physical education teacher, dean of a high school, assistant principal of a high school, and  athletic director at Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn.  Mr. Schratwieser acknowledged that playing sports in New York City is very different from here on Long Island because we are fortunate enough to have our turf fields and ample space to practice.  

However, as he settles into his new role, he realizes COVID-19 poses new difficulties for schools and sports.  Like many educators and administrators, Mr. Schratwieser stressed his trial and error approach to finding a way to keep students active in their Physical Education classes.  As high school sports seasons are approaching, his main priority is to keep all students safe. 

“I like him a lot. I have had the chance to meet with him, and he’s very enthusiastic and has great ideas which I think will help our gym department a lot,” said junior Julia Mody.  

“We are going to have check-ins for students to let us know that you are healthy and not feeling any symptoms of COVID.  We plan to do live online attendance rather than coaches taking pencil and paper attendance in case we have to contact trace,” said Mr. Schratwieser.    

 While coming up with solutions to deal with COVID-19, Mr. Schratwieser and the rest of the athletics department consider other issues such as cleaning equipment, benches, and when it is necessary to wear a mask.  While this year is full of difficulties, Mr. Schratwieser brought some new ideas to Schrieber.  He is working on creating a media day for all of our sports teams, teaming up with “Port Vikings” to create a mini ESPN for Schreiber, and integrating more technology into our physics classes to ensure all students receive high-quality instruction.   

“I’m excited to be part of the community and the culture here in Port Washington,” said Mr. Schratwieser.