ELDRED, NY — On June 12, Eldred Central School hosted its annual sports awards ceremony, marking the close of the 2022-2023 sports season at the “Home of the Yellowjackets.”

Meanwhile, “Coach Z” is at the helm as the newly hired athletic coordinator.           

‘Coach Z’ takes over

“Most of the athletes call me ‘Coach Z,’” said Amanda Zgrodek, the new athletic coordinator and physical education teacher, in the wake of taking over those positions four months ago from J.J. Gass, who relocated to the “Home of the Raiders” at Port Jervis Central School as athletic director.

Amanda Zgrodek, aka "Coach Z," has taken over the athletics department at Eldred.

Zgrodek graduated from Port Jervis and then went on to get an undergraduate degree at East Stroudsburg University and a masters’ degree from New York Institute of Technology, before going back to get an administrative degree at Long Island University.

Prior to accepting the job at Eldred, she taught in the Middletown school district for 20 years, and coached cheerleading, softball and, for the past 10 years, varsity volleyball—the art of getting a ball over a high net without planting your face on the court.

According to Coach Z, she gained valuable experience with Middletown’s track program, picked up a few tips from her brother and father—both coaches—and “was very active in the elementary Special Olympics from the start in 2012.”

She’s “excited to be part of this hardworking, close-knit, supportive community and athletic program,” she said. “Eldred has so much potential athletically. The athletes have already demonstrated this potential in the four short months I have been here.”

And to make this point, Zgrodek noted several season Yellowjackets highlights: four scholar athlete teams, reaching the sectional baseball playoffs, divisional softball champions, 845 Pitcher of the Week, regional softball finalists, Class D All Star softball team, Class D Player of the Year, Class D Coach of the Year, three state qualifiers placing in the top in their events, undefeated modified softball team, a 48-year-old shot put record broken, two nominations for the All State Team, a Tyler Mise Award winner, OCIAA scholar athletes, JV softball finishing with a .500 record, modified baseball only losing three games and a modified record in the steeplechase.

“Our jayvee and modified programs in all our sports have shown a ton on promise,” said Coach Z.  “Being part of a small school program is very different from what I am used to, but it is very rewarding.

 “We will continue to build off of what JJ started; we have a lot of positive things planned for our athletes, and we are looking forward to what the future holds for Eldred athletics.”

Brother and sister hurlers on the mound for Eldred

You’ve most likely heard the old adage that sports can be a family affair.

Eldred makes it come alive.

Joshua Warming hurls the heat for the Yellowjackets varsity baseball team, while his sister Chloe takes to the mound for the school’s varsity softball squad.

According to his mom, Danielle, her 17-year-old son, an 11th-grader at the local high school, has been playing baseball since he was four years old. He started with Eldred LL T-ball, and pitched varsity since the eighth grade.

When not on the mound for the Yellowjackets, Warming plays for the Port Jervis Red Hawks travel team, and has played with the Westwood Cardinals out of Bergen County, NJ.

Looking ahead to his senior year in the 2023-2024 season of sports, this summer he will pitch in the Prep Baseball Report (PBR) game in Cortland, NY and attend several PBR events and showcases.

After graduation, Warming reportedly plans to attend college in the tri-state area, and continue his passion for baseball.

Eldred went to the Section IX Class D championship this year for the third consecutive time, in part based on their pitcher’s stats: 2.12 ERA, a fastball that hits 82-84 mph, batted .480, with 13 stolen bases.

Chloe Warming is a 16-year-old sophomore who has played softball since the age of four. She started out in local Little League and worked her way up to being tabbed as Eldred’s varsity softball pitcher this season.

Along the way, the Lady Yellowjackets earned the Section IX Class D title, making it all the way to the regionals before falling to Deposit.

Chloe Warming pitched every game this year, posting a total of 73 innings on the mound, striking out 38 opposing swatters and batting .275.

Her mom says that although Chloe was asked by several travel teams to play, “she says she doesn’t do side jobs… she just loves to play ball with her friends from her school, and her favorite person is Coach Furler.”

With an eye on the 2024 softball season, “she looks forward to pitching for Eldred and trying to get a little further next year.”

“I love the close-knit small community; it’s like we are one big family,” said Chloe, talking about attending Eldred and pitching for the Lady Yellowjackets.