Kickoff dinner gets it started for Super Six
Friday, December 1, 2006
By JIM ELLIOTT - The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register

What started out as the annual Super Six Kickoff Dinner on Thursday evening at the McClure House Hotel in downtown Wheeling quickly turned into something of a Roast of outgoing West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission Executive Secretary Mike Hayden.

While the primary mission of the dinner was to highlight the three state championship football games and academic achievements of some of the state’s finest during the weekend, some of Hayden’s best friends couldn’t resist one last chance to let him know how much they care.

Hayden, a longtime supporter of Wheeling’s Super Six initiative who is set to retire in July, handled it with the grace and class you’d expect of a man who has carved a life of being a well-respected coach, teacher, and administrator.

Among the highlights was a joke involving Jessica Simpson having to spend eternity with Hayden told by board member Butch Powell and Hayden’s successor, Gary Ray, telling him it was nice to be able to have a grandfather figure in his life after he’d asked him what it was like playing football with a leather helmet.

‘‘I heard you were a great player,’’ he told Hayden, ‘‘but I haven’t seen any film. Did they even have cameras back then?’’ Ray asked.

Frank Marcinko, Williamstown’s athletics director, said it was nice to see so many law enforcement officers in town because ‘‘you can bet there are a lot of outstanding warrants on this guy,’’ he joked.

The best Hayden could do was remind some of his co-workers they still had one review.

But the night wasn’t just about Hayden, who has always admired the way the Wheeling group, initially under the guidance of the late Sam Mumley, set out to make Super Six an event about the kids.

‘‘This group of people,’’ he said, ‘‘probably gave us the best example of how to take something and make it very positive.’’

Hayden relayed a story about an interview he recently gave to a reporter who wanted to know the one thing he was going to take from his position.

‘‘The friendships that we’ve developed,’’ he said. ‘‘I, as an individual, never accomplished anything. The most important thing we do is not hand down penalties or things like that. We work hard to make things better. And with the work that you’ve done and the model you’ve made, we were able to do that,’’ he said of the Wheeling group.

And that’s not just the football championships.

Hayden has pushed to make Wheeling’s Super Six plan a model for every state tournament.

Powell, in a moment of sincerity, told the crowd he didn’t want to take over for Hayden because he didn’t want to be another Gene Bartow. Bartow, in case you don’t know, was the coach who replaced the legendary John Wooden at UCLA. If you didn’t know that name, then you’ll see Powell’s point.

‘‘I didn’t want anyone to say, ‘I’m no Mike Hayden,’ ’’ Powell said. ‘‘One of (Hayden’s) primary goals is to make every tournament as special as the one here in Wheeling.’’

To that end, there’s been an across-the-board upgrade for state tournaments, Powell reported.

‘‘The goal is to make these a truly memorable moment, a time they are never going to forget,’’ Powell said.

It’s something that started right here in Wheeling, with local Super Six Committee Member Howard Corcoran saying his group does little outside of Mumley’s vision.

‘‘The kids, the kids, the kids,’’ Corcoran said, quoting Mumley. ‘‘Take care of the kids for they are the foundation of our future.’’

Most recently born out of that was Wheeling’s promise of $11,000 in scholarships, including $1,000 for each participating schools’ general scholarship fund. They also promised five individual $1,000 academic achievement scholarships, which made January’s vote of a seventh consecutive winning bid a virtual no-brainer.

Even those from around the state are taking notice.

Earlier, former Magnolia football coach Dave Cisar, who is an honorary referee for tonight’s Class AA game, remembered very little about the last season Charleston played host to W.Va.’s football championships (1993). He said they bussed down, played the game, got a t-shirt, and bussed home.

That’s similar to the memory Marcinko had.

‘‘You people have made this an event,’’ Marcinko said. ‘‘You have raised the bar. If Wheeling ever gives this up or if someone else ever goes after this, they’ve got their work cut out. Wheeling deserves a salute.’’

Super Six Notes

The games begin at 7:30 tonight with the AA game involving Wayne County and Tolsia. The Class AAA championship game, involving Parkersburg and Martinsburg, kicks off at noon Saturday, followed by the Class A final at 7:30 p.m. pitting two-time defending champion Wheeling Central and Williamstown. The honorary referee for the Class A game is Wheeling Super Six committee member Al Cerullo, and the Class AAA honorary referee is Hayden.