Ray Kondracki - Clarkstown South Coach - 1985-2019
The time seems to have flown by. When Ray Kondracki was a rookie coach in 1985, he eagerly sought the advice of veteran coaches in the Rockland track community. Now, 34 years later, he is the one dispensing wisdom and mentorship to fledgling coaches and to the athletes in his charge. For Ray Kondracki, 2019 marks the final chapter in a three-and-a-half decade coaching odyssey that will be remembered as much for its sense of inclusiveness as for its star performers and success on the track.
When asked who he would classify as the top athletes he has coached (and he has had many), Ray replied, “Each 'great' athlete brought their own special qualities to the table: drive, confidence, a sense of team, and an impeccable work ethic. They believed in their coaches and themselves.”
That he appreciates the pluggers and chuggers is not surprising; Ray has walked in those shoes, having been by his own estimation an average hurdler and quarter-miler for Tappan Zee in the early to mid-1970s, one with “more guts than talent.” When the South Vikings were winning all those County and Sectional titles in the 1990s, it seemed their rosters were super-sized, and Ray doted on just about every one of those team members.
Still, Hall of Fame honors are earned for achievement, and Ray has done plenty of that: 11 County championships, 10 Section 1 Class A crowns, 14 League titles, 14 Rockland County Coach of the Year awards; 151 boys' cross country victories and 150 boys' spring track dual-meet wins, both No. 3 on the all-time Rockland coaching list; 11 New York State champions and 9 national titleholders; and the 1998 state Intersectional team champion.
Interestingly, Ray rates his 1995 spring team and 1994-95 winter squad as the cream of the crop in his 35-year tenure. Those County and Section-winning teams were studded with standouts such as Pete Modafferi, Kyle Jackson, Stefan Mascoll, a young Tom Thothongkum, Adam Greitzer and Tom Piascik, among others. The single most satisfying moment of Ray's coaching career was winning his first Rockland County meet championship, at Nanuet High School in 1991. “To this day I can hear Tom Doherty's voice ringing across the field...'And your 1991 Rockland County champions, the Clarkstown South Vikings!' I'll always hold that close to my heart,” says Ray, born and raised in Blauvelt and rightfully proud of his Rockland County roots.
Of course, Ray could not have guided so many South teams to success without the staunch support and expertise of his assistant coaches, who mirrored Ray's devotion to the student-athletes' development: Ray Roswell, Ray Sussmann, Giulia Adler, Pete Modafferi, Brian Diglio, Rich Harrington, Andy Kohlbrenner, John Babbitt, Art Lebofsky, Gerry Katchmar. “These coaches brought more to the table than anyone could ask. Without them I'm not here, and our great athletes would not have been so great.”
The tributes have been pouring in as Ray takes his final bows on the Rockland coaching stage. In February he was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by St. Thomas Aquinas College at its annual track and field banquet. Three weeks ago, it was announced that Clarkstown South's track will be named in his honor at a ceremony in May. Those accolades follow up his 2010 induction into the Hall of Fame at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he has been an adjunct professor of Classroom Management and Design in the Graduate School of Education since 2008. He graduated from STAC in 1981 with a degree in special education, and later obtained a master's in emotional handicaps from the College of New Rochelle. He has taught special education and earth science at Clarkstown South since 1985.
As a special education teacher and coach, Ray naturally gravitated toward athletic competition for people with special needs. He held volunteer positions as a coach, official and coordinator for the Rockland County Special Olympics from 1980 to 2000, and was an International Special Olympics track coach in 1986 and 1990. Since 1991, he has served as director of Venture's summer camp for children with and without special needs.
Although it is overshadowed by his coaching career, Ray's role as a meet director has also been highly successful and appreciated by the Rockland track community. He has offered Clarkstown South as the hospitable venue for competitions ranging from the County, Section 1 large-school and League championships to freshman and frosh-soph meets and the annual Gold Rush meet on Penn Relays weekend. All the meets coordinated by Ray Kondracki and his South crew are first-class operations run with efficiency, fairness and respect to all the participating teams.
Ray, who is 62, resides in Pearl River with his wife of 31 years, Cathy. The Kondrackis have three boys: Chris, who turns 26 at the end of May; Bryan, about to turn 23, and Kyle, 21, who just completed his junior year at STAC, where he competes for the track and cross country teams.
Ray doles out praise for those who have undergirded his coaching pursuits, from his assistant coaches and supportive family to his “wonderful” athletic directors who allowed him freedom and discretion, and to the student-athletes with whom he shared countless hours, shaping lives in the process.
“Coaching at South over the past 35 years has been a great opportunity to help and guide all levels of kids achieve individual and team goals, and to help young boys and girls turn into thoughtful men and women,” Ray says. “To share the track and field with fabulous kids, and to have shared in the friendship of coaches, friend and foe, has been a blessing.” Ray then paraphrases fictional George Bailey's angel, Clarence Oddbody, from the film It's a Wonderful Life: “You see Ray, you've had a wonderful life!”
The time seems to have flown by. When Ray Kondracki was a rookie coach in 1985, he eagerly sought the advice of veteran coaches in the Rockland track community. Now, 34 years later, he is the one dispensing wisdom and mentorship to fledgling coaches and to the athletes in his charge. For Ray Kondracki, 2019 marks the final chapter in a three-and-a-half decade coaching odyssey that will be remembered as much for its sense of inclusiveness as for its star performers and success on the track.
When asked who he would classify as the top athletes he has coached (and he has had many), Ray replied, “Each 'great' athlete brought their own special qualities to the table: drive, confidence, a sense of team, and an impeccable work ethic. They believed in their coaches and themselves.”
That he appreciates the pluggers and chuggers is not surprising; Ray has walked in those shoes, having been by his own estimation an average hurdler and quarter-miler for Tappan Zee in the early to mid-1970s, one with “more guts than talent.” When the South Vikings were winning all those County and Sectional titles in the 1990s, it seemed their rosters were super-sized, and Ray doted on just about every one of those team members.
Still, Hall of Fame honors are earned for achievement, and Ray has done plenty of that: 11 County championships, 10 Section 1 Class A crowns, 14 League titles, 14 Rockland County Coach of the Year awards; 151 boys' cross country victories and 150 boys' spring track dual-meet wins, both No. 3 on the all-time Rockland coaching list; 11 New York State champions and 9 national titleholders; and the 1998 state Intersectional team champion.
Interestingly, Ray rates his 1995 spring team and 1994-95 winter squad as the cream of the crop in his 35-year tenure. Those County and Section-winning teams were studded with standouts such as Pete Modafferi, Kyle Jackson, Stefan Mascoll, a young Tom Thothongkum, Adam Greitzer and Tom Piascik, among others. The single most satisfying moment of Ray's coaching career was winning his first Rockland County meet championship, at Nanuet High School in 1991. “To this day I can hear Tom Doherty's voice ringing across the field...'And your 1991 Rockland County champions, the Clarkstown South Vikings!' I'll always hold that close to my heart,” says Ray, born and raised in Blauvelt and rightfully proud of his Rockland County roots.
Of course, Ray could not have guided so many South teams to success without the staunch support and expertise of his assistant coaches, who mirrored Ray's devotion to the student-athletes' development: Ray Roswell, Ray Sussmann, Giulia Adler, Pete Modafferi, Brian Diglio, Rich Harrington, Andy Kohlbrenner, John Babbitt, Art Lebofsky, Gerry Katchmar. “These coaches brought more to the table than anyone could ask. Without them I'm not here, and our great athletes would not have been so great.”
The tributes have been pouring in as Ray takes his final bows on the Rockland coaching stage. In February he was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by St. Thomas Aquinas College at its annual track and field banquet. Three weeks ago, it was announced that Clarkstown South's track will be named in his honor at a ceremony in May. Those accolades follow up his 2010 induction into the Hall of Fame at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he has been an adjunct professor of Classroom Management and Design in the Graduate School of Education since 2008. He graduated from STAC in 1981 with a degree in special education, and later obtained a master's in emotional handicaps from the College of New Rochelle. He has taught special education and earth science at Clarkstown South since 1985.
As a special education teacher and coach, Ray naturally gravitated toward athletic competition for people with special needs. He held volunteer positions as a coach, official and coordinator for the Rockland County Special Olympics from 1980 to 2000, and was an International Special Olympics track coach in 1986 and 1990. Since 1991, he has served as director of Venture's summer camp for children with and without special needs.
Although it is overshadowed by his coaching career, Ray's role as a meet director has also been highly successful and appreciated by the Rockland track community. He has offered Clarkstown South as the hospitable venue for competitions ranging from the County, Section 1 large-school and League championships to freshman and frosh-soph meets and the annual Gold Rush meet on Penn Relays weekend. All the meets coordinated by Ray Kondracki and his South crew are first-class operations run with efficiency, fairness and respect to all the participating teams.
Ray, who is 62, resides in Pearl River with his wife of 31 years, Cathy. The Kondrackis have three boys: Chris, who turns 26 at the end of May; Bryan, about to turn 23, and Kyle, 21, who just completed his junior year at STAC, where he competes for the track and cross country teams.
Ray doles out praise for those who have undergirded his coaching pursuits, from his assistant coaches and supportive family to his “wonderful” athletic directors who allowed him freedom and discretion, and to the student-athletes with whom he shared countless hours, shaping lives in the process.
“Coaching at South over the past 35 years has been a great opportunity to help and guide all levels of kids achieve individual and team goals, and to help young boys and girls turn into thoughtful men and women,” Ray says. “To share the track and field with fabulous kids, and to have shared in the friendship of coaches, friend and foe, has been a blessing.” Ray then paraphrases fictional George Bailey's angel, Clarence Oddbody, from the film It's a Wonderful Life: “You see Ray, you've had a wonderful life!”