2019 Senate League Champs: The Glenville Tarblooder Golf Team

Glenville golf team members Marcus and Godfrey on the driving range at Shawnee Hills Golf Course

The 2019 golf season has just finished with our Glenville Tarblooders as Senate League champs with a season record of 9-1. We all enjoyed watching them make progress every week as they continue to learn this complex sport which is new to most of the team members.

Coach Devin Demaske with freshman Tarblooder, Marcus

Coach Demaske with senior Tarblooder, DeAndre

Isaiah, a senior, during a match with Lincoln West HS

Deion after a rough time on the green during a match

 Coach Devin Demaske, with three years as golf coach and a social studies teacher at the Ginn Academy since 2008, is passionate about young people in the community and also the sport of golf. He has played for about 30 years.


This year's team had solid veteran leadership from seniors, Godfrey Ballah, 2017 Senate Champion Percy Bradley, 2018 and 2019 Senate League All Star Deion Jackson-Washington, and 2017 Senate Champ, 2019 All Star and Team Captain Isaiah Priester.  Also, leading the squad was senior and co-captain DeAndre Norris, who was also named a Senate League All Star this year.  Playing for the first year and poised be the future of the team was Marcus Dixon (Freshman).  The team played their home matches at Shawnee Hills golf course this season.

Marcus and Godfrey on the putting green

DeAndre during a match

Isaiah and DeAndre during a match

Marcus, right, with a fellow golfer from Lincoln West HS

Godfrey on the driving range

Deion during a match

Isaiah Priester has written the rest of this blog post for us to talk about his experiences being a Ginn Man and what he and his teammates are learning from being on the golf team.

Isaiah, author of the following essay, on the putting green at Shawnee Hills

The Glenville Golf Team, by Isaiah Priester

My name is Isaiah and I am a senior at The Ginn Academy.  I enjoy going to school and learning new things. As a student-athlete, I am a member of the golf, bowling, and track teams. Being an avid swimmer for many years, I get to use my swimming talent as a lifeguard during the summer.  My favorite food is seafood. My spare time is spent with friends and family, especially my mom who is a teacher at The Ginn Academy.

I chose to attend the Ginn Academy as a ninth grader. The Ginn Academy is the first and only all-male public high school in the state of Ohio.  The school’s tenets include scholarship, leadership, and service.  We show this by having respect for each other and our teachers, and having the courage to be different; to be Ginn Men.

The Ginn Academy is more than just academics.  We also participate in community service, leadership, and character-building initiatives, and have the opportunity to participate in post-secondary programs like High Tech Academy where students maintain dual enrollment at the Academy and Cuyahoga Community College allowing us to earn college credits.

Our uniforms are very unique. They consist of black or white shirts, black dress pants, black dress shoes, red blazer, and a neck tie or bow tie.  Also, there is a designated tie that is specific to each grade level.  After becoming a senior and completing rites of passage, a unique uniform of a grey suit is worn for specific days and events.  These are just some of the reasons that I came to the Ginn Academy.


Tarblooders at practice

Godfrey and Marcus on the driving range

DeAndre, 2019 Senate League All Star

 As a sophomore, I joined the Glenville Golf team under the leadership of our coach, Mr. Devin Demaske.  The sport seemed like a lot of fun to play and also offers college scholarships.  During my first year on the golf team, I had a lot of fun bonding with my teammates, meeting new people and competing against other teams in the school district.  Golf is a friendly sport. All of the teams got to know each other and we had a great golf season.  In August of 2017 , the Glenville golf team won the championship and celebrated at Ted Ginn, Sr.’s restaurant. 

I began my second year of playing golf as a junior,  having really learned the game and continued to meet new people as our team evolved. My teammates are Deion, Godfrey, DeAndre, Percy and Marcus. Our team continued to get better during the 2019 golf season. We continued to have fun and encourage each other to do well. There were also a lot of fun times in getting to and from our games. We enjoyed playing cards on the way to our games as a way to relax before our competitions.  After each win, Coach Demaske always treated us to pizza or McDonald’s.

The 2019 Senate League All Stars

2019 Senate League golf champions: the Glenville Tarblooders

2019 Senate League golf champions: the Glenville Tarblooders

During our practices, we competed amongst our team on the putting green where the winner received extra food and beverages.  I have improved my skills as a golfer. My first year playing golf was ok because I wasn’t that good and was still learning the game. During my second year, my golf game got better and I earned the title of having the best swing on the team.

Percy with the Senate League championship trophy

Marcus tees off at Highland Golf Course at the Senate League championship with students from Lincoln West and John Hay

Marcus’s first year of playing golf was a success.  He was a good putter and had a consistently good swing. He always encouraged us as a team. Deion also had a good second year on the golf team because he had the lowest scores in every match but always remained the cool and chilled team mate. In addition to being a good putter and having a good swing, Percy was the funniest member on the team for the past three years. Godfrey and Marcus, like the rest of us, continued to improve their games in both swinging and putting.

Golf is an individual as well as a team sport. I truly enjoy the game of golf and being a part of the Glenville High School Golf Team.

Ginn Academy Class of 2016

One of our favorite times of the year has come and gone, and we are so proud of this class of young men. We'd like to share a few photos to celebrate the Ginn Academy Class of 2016, along with all of their exemplary efforts and successes.

Speaker, Captain Jamal Robinson, Glenville H.S. and U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate

On May 22, 2016, 59 high school seniors walked across the stage at Cuyahoga Community College's Metro Campus and received their diplomas. This class has earned nearly three million dollars in scholarships. We are proud to say that we have a 93% graduation rate this year, well above the national average.

Coach Ginn straightens every single graduate's gown and sash before the ceremony

Before the ceremony begins, Mr. Ginn leaves the graduates with some final words of wisdom

These students have big plans and will enter the world with further studies at universities throughout the country, apprenticeships for jobs, and military careers. We have done everything possible to send them on prepared to face their next steps.

Ginn Academy Class of 2016
POST SECONDARY PLANS

      NAME                            Plan
Bailey, Rajeem                Ohio Technical College
Boggan, DeAngelo          Kent State University
Boyd, Devon                   Wilmington College
Brown, Lloyd                  Cuyahoga Community College
Castro, Tristen                 Kent State University
Clark, Andrew                 Ohio Technical College
Clark, Christian               Alabama State University
Cody, Myles                    Work force
Davis, Jordan                  Walsh University
Davis, Ralph                   Ashland University
Drish, Marcus                 Notre Dame College
Florence, Gregory           Work Force (+Cuyahoga Community College part time)
Freeman, Victor               Military-Army
Gardner, Nazyr                Cuyahoga Community College + OTCO training program
Ginn, Jeffrey                    Fordham University
Gray, Mario                      Cuyahoga Community College
Gregory, Darren               Work training
Hale, Howard                   Youngstown State University
Hall, Isaiah                       Cuyahoga Community College
Hardy, Erikus                   Trade school
Harsley, Darnell               Mercyhurst University
Hauser, Keivon                 Cuyahoga Community College
Haynes, Brandon              Erie Community College
Hillman, Darrien               Academy of Art University San Francisco
Hobbs, Christian               Trade School
Houston, DeAndre             Lake Erie College
Houston, Devontae            Lake Erie College
Jones, Steven                     Bowling Green State University
Jones-Washington, Tallis   Hiram College          
Kilgo, Bryant                     Garden City Community College            
Killebrew, Jwan                  Cleveland State University
Lyns, De’vonte                   Cuyahoga Community College
May, Juan                           Work force
Moore, Maceo                    University of Akron
Murry, Johnnie                    Hiram College
Naylor, Rickey                    Hiram College
Pennington, Siraj                Work Force
Perkins, Divonair                Cuyahoga Community College
Pollard, Demario                  Cuyahoga Community College
Pope, Aaron                        Alabama State University
Reed, Rashee                      Eastern Michigan University
Reynolds, Raphael               Muskingum University
Robinson, Benjamin            South Carolina State University
Royster, Kenneth                 Walsh University
Russell, Diamond                Garden City Community College
Sarjeant, Joseph                  Cleveland Institute of Art
Sessions, Alonzo                 Cuyahoga Community College
Small, Ju’Shaun                  Garden City Community College
Spates, Kelvin                     University of Akron      
Switzer, Marcel                   Military - Army
Thomas, Shaun                    Garden City Community College
Thornton,  Darsellis             Cuyahoga Community College
Waleed, Jahlil                       Cuyahoga Community College
Walker, Anthony                  Ohio State University Mansfield
Warner, Christian                 Work force
Wells, Keith                         Work internship
Wiley, Anthony                    Work force
Wilson, Demann                  United States Military Academy-West Point             
Wilson, Deshaun                  Kent State University
Wilson, Shaundel                 Walsh University
Wright, Jordan                      Cuyahoga Community College
Wright, Naquan                    Wright State University (? YSU/Lake Erie)   
                       
Stats – 50% attending 4-year schools, 30% attending 2-year schools, 3% will go to trade schools, 3% are entering the military, and 13% will join the work force.    

Valedictorian, Howard Hale

Ginn Academy Principal, Nicholas Petty

Three GA alumni, all now in college

Valedictorian, Howard Hale, with Life Coach and soon to be teacher, James Gordon

Congratulations, Class of 2016! We know you will all contribute to positive change in our world and we are happy to have you working along side us, near and far, to continue our mission of scholarship, leadership, and service to all mankind. We love you all and look forward to hearing from you soon!

The Ginn Academy Class of 2016

And to our supporters, thank you for your interest and for all of the ways that you contribute to our school. Here's to the Class of 2016 and the young men coming up next!

Kindest regards from all of us at The Ginn Academy...