Bishop Ireton High School | Archive | July, 2009

Bishop Ireton cross country and track coach Brad Byrnes recently returned from Boulder, Colorado, where he earned his USATrack & Field Level 2 coaching certification in the endurance events. The class was held July 18th through the 25th and allowed Byrnes to rub elbows with the nation’s finest cross country and track coaches. “The course was very intense and what I learned there will positively impact the progression of our distance running programs here at Ireton”. The USATF Level 2 program is very selective and only takes 60 applicants from across the country per year in the endurance category. “To be sitting in class and learning alongside some of the best coaches in the country was amazing. Outside of the classroom we worked on group projects and just picked each other’s minds about training, diet, etc. Having the class in a city like Boulder didn’t hurt either”. Byrnes is entering his 6th season with the Bishop Ireton cross country program, 4th as head coach. Both the boys and girls squads began practice on August 17th.

“Coach Byrnes is a dedicated coach, he trains our runners with exceptional skill and we were thrilled that he had the opportunity to attend this course,” commented Cardinal AD Bill Simmons.  “He is will use this opportunity to everyone’s benefit at Ireton. It is no surprise to anyone familiar with him that he keeps our running program as one of our strong points in athletics year in and year out. He is another example the great coaches we enjoy at Bishop Ireton.  I was thrilled that he was able to attend, this is a national level program and they are very selective.”

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Juniors Sarah Morgan and Olivia Babiec, members of BI crew, won the Junior B (U-16) Woman’s 8+ event at the US Rowing Club National Championships at the rowing course at Oak Ridge, TN on July 19th, 2009. They rowed for Thompson Boat Center of Washington, D.C. The Washingtonians’ won a very close race over 2000m course with the Thompson’s boat prevailing by just 0.46 seconds in snaring the title.

The girls will be racing again at the 127th Royal Canadian Henley Regatta at St. Catherine’s, Ontario, on August 4-9th. Other girls competing were Sara Woodruff, Reagan Miller, Meredith Ramey, all for Thompson’s and Lily Ramey for the Old Dominion Boat Club of Alexandria, VA. Boys competing for Old Dominion Boat Club were Thaddeus Babiec, Garrett Hulfish and Patrick Walsh.

Ireton crew is one of the School’s fastest growing athletic programs under third year coach Ryan Gibson. The team sent the girls varsity 4+ to the national semi-finals in May at Princeton, NJ, one of three boats that qualified for the nationals.

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Alexandria Times

And Now, On the Microphone

You know that voice you hear on the loudspeaker at Alexandria Aces home games? Calm, smooth and richly baritone?


Sounds like a pro, right?

Well, that voice belongs to 14-year-old Matt Krause, the soon-to-be 15-year-old Bishop Ireton sophomore who was calling collegiate summer league baseball games before he took his first high school speech class.

It’s all part of the road to the top for Krause, who decided at an early age that his professional future probably had more prospects off the field than on it.

“When I realized that I had limited athletic talent in the third grade or so, I decided that I would try and focus on getting behind the scenes,” he said, adding that most of his friends’ summer jobs don’t hold a candle to his.

When the Aces set out for their inaugural season last year, the aspiring sports broadcaster started out as one of the ticket-takers.

But game by game, Krause showed that he was more of a utility player — with a preternatural voice for someone his age — than the typical 13-year-old heading into high school, Aces President Pat Malone said.

By the end of the 2008 summer campaign, a hope that started with an email to Aces management asking about becoming the team’s voice, had come to fruition as Krause got the chance to step up to the mic for the last few games of the season at Frank Mann Field.

Krause even did one of those games without the script announcers use to stay on track with spots for sponsors and teams. Instead, options severely limited, he recited all of the plugs from memory.
“He did the entire game dead-on, saying all the sponsorships dead-on,” Malone said. “It’s just incredible.”

Because of that game and his ability to master names and facts, Aces staff members joke that Krause has a memory like Dustin Hoffman’s title character in the movie Rainman. However, that sort of retention does not come out of left field.

Between what he learned at a sports broadcasting camp four years ago in Rockville where Krause got to work with regional sportscasters like Chick Hernandez and Johnny Holiday, and picking the brain of Aces official Ryan Fannon, Krause said he quickly learned the importance of preparation.

Fannon, who broadcasts Villanova football and basketball games for ESPN radio in Philadelphia, emphasized the importance of any broadcaster familiarizing himself with all of the names, faces and storylines that could come into play. As such, Krause does just about everything he can.

“I probably put in at least a half an hour a day on the Aces website and league website, and then I’m usually the first person here after the players,” Krause said. Then he has to study the game script for the day.

Krause, whose favorite announcer is Bob Costas, said he would eventually like to do play-by-play on a national level for a variety of sports, from NASCAR to baseball.

“I definitely want to try and be a play-by-play guy,” Krause said. “Although I really like Costas, I don’t just want to be at a desk talking. I’d rather be there at the game more.”

Three years ago, Krause got a taste of getting into the big time, announcing the first three batters of a Nationals game after winning a contest.

In the meantime, he said he practices at home — something his mother confirmed — by muting the TV and calling the action for live games and video games, much to the chagrin of his younger brother.
“It drives my brother crazy,” Krause said. “Even when I’m playing [the football video game] Madden, I turn the sound down and launch right into doing commentary.”

Since his Aces debut, Krause’s experience has only continued to grow. During the school term he became the voice of Bishop Ireton’s football and baseball teams and has taken on about half of the announcing load with the Aces.

“I have friends who are athletes, so I get to be around the teams and know the players at B.I. and they’ve kind of adopted me like a teammate,” Krause said. “They definitely get a kick out of it.”
With the Aces in the latter stages of their second season in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, Malone called it “pure luck” to have Krause on board and hopes to hold onto him for as long as he can.

“We all want to see baseball players who come here and get drafted by Major League Baseball, but one of the biggest kicks I’d ever have is to see Matt Krause calling Major League Baseball,” Malone said. “That would be the ultimate.”

And, although Krause has already gotten a brief taste of what it’s like to be behind the mic in the big leagues, there’s still college — and plenty of high school — ahead of him.

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Ireton’s Cardinals finished an impressive summer campaign going 11-0 in the Hoop Magic League, capturing the tournament championship with a doubleheader win Sunday with a 3:30pm semifinal win then bouncing back at 5:30 for a title game against Osbourne Park.  They interrupted their march to Hoop Magic title last week long enough to venture to Albright College in Pennsylvannia for the Eastern Invitational Team camp Thursday and Friday. 

The gritty Cards opened with a close win over Central Dauphin High School with junior Patrick Hanafin pouring in 27 points. St Joe’s Metuchen sent the Alexandrians to the consolation round with a win over Ireton, but the Cardinals bounced back to stop Scranton High School. In game four another junior, guard Antonio Rouse, hit a three with 1.4 seconds remaining to send the Friday contest to overtime where the Virginians never looked back in dumping Pennsylvannia’s state runners up, York High School by 5. Bishop McDevit pulled out a nailbiter in the consolation final over the good guys to send the redbirds home with a respectable 3-2 mark. Without missing a beat, the team got a good night’s rest, and won a pair on Sunday to capture the Hoop Magic trophy.  “We played well, we improved as a team,” commented new skipper, Neil Berkman. “We aren’t there yet, but I can see there is ‘no quit’ in our guys and their hard work shows up in the improvement already this summer.” 

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