at Horace Mann ScHooL

athletics at horace mann school
Football co-captains Jordan Taylor ’09 and
Kenny Thompson ’09
high grade-pointaverages,
and on the
application process.
By pre-season
2008 it was clear
that football would
be one of those
sports experiencing
a decline in players.
Only one freshman
tried out. However,
it was encouraging
that several new
sophomores and
juniors came out for
the team. Beginning
its season with only
26 players Head
Coach Annunziata,
and Coaches Matt
Russo, Ray Barile
and Dan Hannon, focused
on conditioning
and held fewer contact scrimmages, in order to build up team
members’ strength and prevent injuries among each valued player.
Still, no one is giving up on this traditional sport that enhances
the end of summer and the fall season for so many students. Jordan
Taylor ’09, one of football’s five captains, is hoping to bring “the
pride back to Lions football,” a job he’s sees as a primary responsibility
in his team leader role.
Taylor was off to a good start on the Friday before Homecoming,
when he and the fellow football captains Louis Solmonson ’09,
Kenny Thompson ’09, Charles Sadaka ’10, and Darian Amirsaleh
’09, along with other representatives of all of HM’s fall sports teams,
visited the Lower Division for its annual pre-Homecoming Maroon
and White Day pep rally.
With all good humor the football captains announced “We all
know that football is the coolest sport,” and then led their younger
peers in a rousing cheer. When Taylor’s name was announced and
the tall lineman stepped forward teachers who had known him
since kindergarten smiled in surprise at his transformation, and
then cheered along. For the kindergarten-through-fifth-graders who
Taylor and the other captains high-fived, there could have been no
better ambassadors for the future of HM football.
“I have been working hard for three years to get to this point. We
have great team chemistry, and we really feel like we are going to
do big things for the program,” said Taylor, an HM “survivor”. “Win
or lose we are always looking toward the future. I want nothing
more than to come back in a few years and see another 50-manteam.
Just like old times.”
No doubt, many among the elementary-age pep-rally audience
could see themselves wearing those maroon football helmets with
their interlocking HM logo one day.
A Uniform Spirit—
Where the Only Name is HM’s
For the Athletics Department the issue comes down to weighing
the sacrifice of fielding smaller teams against the opportunity that
a full complement of athletics offerings provides students. “Having
this great variety enables so many more students to play a sport or
participate on a team. What if someone feels he or she isn’t strong
at hitting or fielding a ball? That student might find a true calling in
running or fencing.”
The philosophy of athletics at Horace Mann speaks to the issue
of encouraging students toward team participation, and to the
significance of the lessons this School hopes students will glean
from the experience. Staying true to tradition, under Annunziata’s
administration the only name on any uniform is Horace Mann.
“Our athletes are very aware of the legacy they are privileged to
honor each time they wear the Maroon and White,” said the athletic
director.
Alumni in Sports
David Cornstein ’56 and
Marc Cornstein ’88
When Marc Cornstein ’88 launched
his sports agent and management
venture Pinnacle Management Corp.
(PMC) 11 years ago in his early 20s
he took a leap worthy of the
high-flying NBA players and other
athletes he would soon represent.
But, if he had a moment of doubt
about making it in the fast-paced
world of professional sports, he knew
he had someone to turn to: David Cornstein ’56—a veteran of the sports
world Marc named as his company’s senior advisor, and happens to be
Marc’s Dad. Headquartered in New York City PMC is a rising star in the
industry, with a track record in handling all aspects of its athlete’s careers.
It’s also unique as a firm that represents athletes hailing from Belgrade to
the Bronx, from Israel to Serbia. Despite his father’s expertise in sports
negotiations, learned, particularly in the intense world of horse racing, Marc
has forged his own path in the industry. He’s had to, given his international
travel schedule, to say nothing of his father’s very active life. A leader in the
private and public sectors for over 40 years, David Cornstein is perhaps best
known for his work with the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation. In
June 2008 he was named Board Chair after successfully saving OTB from
extinction. David is also a dedicated public servant who is active on
numerous civic and philanthropic boards. Marc is following suit with the
founding of Courts of Dreams, a Pinnacle initiative that seeks to restore and
maintain outdoor basketball courts for children in NYC neighborhoods and
around the world, with programs to foster healthy, safe communities while
promoting the values of basketball such as team work, mutual respect and
leadership. In the case of the Cornsteins “Like father, like son”—or like
father and son alums—are words of a hearty compliment.
14 Horace Mann Magazine Fall 2008