Thursday, June 13, 2013: Latella leaving Hamilton soccer for principal job

   Leading off today: Brian Latella needed three seasons to get the pieces in place, after which his Hamilton Central School boys soccer team became a Class D terror.

   Now, it appears it will be up to someone else to take the reins. Latella is expected to depart for a job in Lake Placid, with RadioFreeHamilton.com reporting his appointment as the elementary school principal there is expected to be finalized next week.

   Latella, who started at Hamilton as a sixth-grade teacher in 2001, took over the varsity soccer team in 2003 and posted a 25-17-8 mark. In the seven seasons since, his teams went 124-20-8 with two NYSPHSAA Class D championships, a third trip to the finals and four straight Section 3 titles beginning in 2008.

   A better offer: Westhill senior Carson Hicks was supposed to walk in the Syracuse football program this fall, but plans changed drastically late last month when Miami (Ohio) University offered the two-way lineman a scholarship.

   "I was born into Division I football," Hicks, son of SU strength and conditioning coach William Hicks, told The Post-Standard. "My whole life, it’s what I’ve been aiming for. The I-AA offers were sweet. I was blessed. When the Division I offer was made, I couldn’t turn it down."

   Hicks, a 6-foot-2, 257-pound senior, is projected to play center for the Mid-American Conference team, but he could fit in at nose tackle instead once practice starts in August.

   Wrapping up all-state selections: NYSSWA baseball editor Tom Vartanian is in the late stages of assembling the 2013 all-state baseball team. Media members, league and sectional officials who want to bring worthy candidates to his attention should send nominations -- including position, grade and supporting info to Tom within the next few days via e-mail.

   A job well done: Imagine handling a particular responsibility correctly every day of every season ... for more than four decades.

   That's what Jimmy Kane did from 1969 to 2013 as an officials assigner in a multitude of sports for the Rockland County PSAL, getting officials scheduled for an estimated 400,000 scholastic and collegiate contests, with legend having it that no game was ever canceled because no one was assigned.

   The 1945 Nyack graduate recently retired after 70 years as an active official and then the assigner.

   It's that time of year: There'll be a handful of school budget revotes across the state next week. Not surprisingly, the threat of cuts to sports and other

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extracurricular activities looms big in several districts, and Cicero-North Syracuse is no exception.

   To say there's acrimony in the air around C-NS would be an understatement. Residents on both sides of the tussle there have been pulling out all the stops in bids either to shoot down or support the amended budget proposal. Every vote-related story posted on Syracuse.com draws 100 or more reader comments, some from people irate that the revised budget's cuts include 25 coaches and eight modified or freshmen sports teams.

   Such was the case Thursday when The Post-Standard reported that Steve Ellis was paid $19,700 this spring as part of a settlement deal in which he resigned as the varsity football coach. The payout constituted payment for the 2012 season, which he missed while recovering from a neck injury suffered while teaching a physical education class, and the upcoming 2013 campaign, spelled out in a document signed off upon by the coach, his union and the district superintendent.

   Former Skaneateles head coach Joe Sindoni was hired last month to coach the Northstars after the district announced that Ellis had resigned in early March. The Northstars were 36-50 in 10 seasons under Ellis, including 2-6 in 2010 and 1-7 in 2011.

   "In the best interests of all the parties," reads the agreement, "including the district's student athletes, Mr. Ellis, the NSEA (teacher's union), and the District have agreed that Mr. Ellis will separate from employment as football coach. ..."

   Superintendent Kim Dyce Faucette, who has warned that all sports could be cut if the re-vote fails, declined to discuss details of the agreement, the paper reported.

   Extra points: Pearl River baseball coach Bruce Miller has retired after 344 wins and 10 league championships -- including five of the last six -- in 25 seasons.