On April 28, the Maryland State Athletic Directors Association named Andy Wetzel District 2B Athletic Director of the Year. The winner is decided based on votes cast by all the athletic directors in the district.

Wetzel, one of the longest tenured athletic directors in the county, has been the athletic director for 12 of his 20 years at Whitman. He is responsible for organizing many aspects of team sports, including scheduling, uniforms, referees, transportation and other administrative tasks. His experience allows him to be a reliable resource for many other athletic directors, Wetzel said.

“I’m always able to help my fellow athletic directors out by answering questions, whether it be on online registration, financial stuff, or game management stuff,” Wetzel said.

Over the years, Wetzel’s hard work, consistency and open communication has helped establish his credibility among the coaches and assert himself as the face of the athletic department, boys basketball coach Chris Lun said.

“He’s always been supportive of our program, whether it’s making sure we have some equipment to use for the youth clinics we run, paying our holiday tournament fees or helping schedule our out of county opponents,” Lun said.

While a major part of Wetzel’s job this year has been guiding the installment of the new turf field and leading the transition to online registration for sports, his favorite part of the job is interacting with the coaches.

“When you’re a coach, you’re coaching the kids. But when you’re an athletic director, you’re more or less coaching the coaches,” Wetzel said. “I enjoy helping them do whatever they need to be successful.”

Wetzel was honored to receive this award, especially because it was given to him by his peers. Although he was very appreciative, his colleagues were also well qualified for the award, he said.

“It is a very nice gesture. Any other Athletic Director in the county could’ve easily gotten it,” Wetzel said. “I appreciate my fellow athletic directors voting for me; but as I said, I’m not doing anything else they aren’t doing.”