Trinity School approved for IHSAA membership
SOUTH BEND — Trinity School at Greenlawn has been approved for IHSAA membership. The private school in South Bend was approved in a recent vote by the IHSAA executive committee.
"Joining the IHSAA is very exciting," says Trinity athletic director Mike Gionfriddo. "Being a member of the IHSAA will naturally create opportunities to be recognized in the community and at the state level. That may mean individual student athletes are being recognized or it may mean Trinity School at Greenlawn is recognized on the whole."
"I look forward to seeing our teams succeed in sectionals, regionals and eventually at the state levels."
Gionfriddo says joining the IHSAA has been a priority of his for awhile.
"Joining the IHSAA, in some ways, enables Trinity to build bona fide programs and serve our student athletes. As we strive for excellence in the classroom and with our fine arts programs, we aim to accomplish the same with out athletics programs."
"Trinity School has been looking into joining the IHSAA for a number of years," head of school John Lee tells WSBT Sports. "The main reason we decided to join was so our teams have an opportunity to play in postseason tournaments."
"When we discovered that we would not need to change our schedules and that we would be able to handle the increased administrative tasks we decided to move ahead. We want to strive for excellence in academics and all extracurricular activities, including our sports teams."
Trinity School has a reputation as an excellent educational institution in the area. The school has won the National Blue Ribbon award from the U.S. Department of Education four times since the school was founded in 1981, more than any other high school in Indiana.
Soon, Trinity hopes to add athletic success to it's growing list of academic accolades.
"It is important for our student athletes to have the opportunity to compete for sectional and state titles," Gionfriddo says, "It gives them an opportunity to represent themselves, their school and their families on a high level of competition. We have some talented teams and we have some talented individuals who will certainly gain recognition by playing at this level."
"Though we are a (class) 1A school, we will still have the opportunities to play at some big venues because the IHSAA affords all classes to play at the bigger venues. Ultimately, I would like to see some of our student athletes going on to some strong colleges and playing their respective sports at the collegiate level and I believe that being able to play for state titles is a great way for our student athletes to learn what it is like to play for something big and potential carry those skills with them to the collegiate level. "
Trinity already competes against IHSAA member schools and has begun serving a four year probationary period, as mandated by the IHSAA. Trinity will be eligible for state tournament competition beginning in 2021?22. The school will compete in boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball and boys and girls track and field.
