The Pirate Process

Phoenix High School Assistant Principal, Athletic Director and Activities Director (PHSAPADAD for short) Dave Ehrhardt shares his thoughts, hopes and dreams for the Pirates on an as-needed basis. PHS Senior Jovanny Ramirez and his family say Go Pirates...and turn in those Sparrow hours! 

February 2, 2024

As we make our way through winter, the Pirates have a ton to feel good about. Here's just a few of the highlights:

* Equestrian is the early district leader in point after the first meet of the season;

* Boys' Basketball is ranked 9th in the state heading into a first-place showdown with Henley;

* Wrestling is pretty small in numbers but the folks who are committed are definitely committed. And we have a crew coming from the middle school;

* Cheer has tripled in size from a year ago;

* We have a lot of swimmers...one of the biggest teams in the state;

* Girls' Basketball is tracking to earn its way to the post-season;

* Spring sports start on February 26!

Part of the Process for the AD/AP is spending time with good books. Last year I made my way through a bunch of them. These days I'm spending time reviewing what I read and picking out some of the most memorable pieces of info. Here's a few from Mark Miller's Smart Leadership:

Your choices determine your impact. 

You must overcome your current level of success to succeed at a higher level. 

You have at least one superpower – the power to make choices.

The status quo is always a hollow and fragile substitute for a vibrant future.

Your current reality is not your destination – it is only the starting point.

Progress is always preceded by change.

The best teams even keep score in practice.

The future favors the adaptable.

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. – Peter Drucker

Have you accomplished anything others said was impossible?

Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right. –Henry Ford

Set a goal to learn something every day.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. – William Ward

The most exciting part of your story has yet to be written. 

Happy reading PHS!

November 26, 2023

Phoenix High School fall sports athletes earned numerous honors during the 2023 fall season.

Voted on by conference coaches, the honors were especially plentiful for members of the Pirate junior class during the fall.

In volleyball, junior Seneca Ikemire was a first-team all-Skyline Conference choice. Despite her season being cut short by a leg injury, Ikemire was the Pirates top attacker on a regular basis. Freshman Lilly Quintero earned was a second-team choice while Isha Van Ness, also a junior, was an honorable mention choice. Classmate Ariah Potts was an all-defensive team selection. 

In girls' soccer, junior Anahi Villa was selected to the first team after leading the Pirates in scoring. Senior Aspyn Shull-Bain, juniors Carsyn Gallegos and Katie Monroe  and sophomore Addie McConnell all earned honorable mention.

In boys' soccer, seniors Cielo Marlia-Larsen and Dominic McGuire were first-team selections. Senior Jacob Moody earned second-team honors. Seniors Jayden Moody and Tanner Norris and juniors Juan Vargas and Hector Ramos were all honorable mention.

In football, junior defensive end Tobias Akpan was a second-team selection. He was named honorable mention on offense. Junior linebacker Derek Corder was honorable mention on defense while sophomore Aiden Ryena was honorable mention as an offensive lineman. 

In cross country, three Pirates earned first-team honors based on their finishes in the Skyline Conference meet. The group included seniors Kael Feely and Orlando Contreras and sophomore Ethan Dobbins. Senior AJ Merlin was second team for Phoenix, which won the Skyline team title. For the PHS girls, freshman Aleah Polansky, senior Brisa Bauer and freshman Ashleigh Erwin were all second-team honorees. Feeley went on to earn first-team all-state honors based on his third-place finish at the OSAA State Cross Country Meet. 

Academically, Phoenix had a stellar fall. Of 183 student-athletes, 121 of them had a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Boys' Cross Country finished at 3.87, good for third in the state. Girls' Cross Country tied for fifth at 3.89. Volleyball tied for fifth at 3.767. Girls' Soccer finished at 3.62 while Boys' Soccer was eighth in the state at 3.25. Cheerleading posted a team GPA of 3.07 while Football checked in at 2.54.

October 31, 2023

It's been a bit since The Process has been updated. Here's a few morsels as we close out the Fall season...

Homecoming Week was a huge hit at Phoenix High School. It's amazing how many people it takes to put it all together (especially the way we do it at the P!). Here's a few Pirate HoCo Rock Stars...

* Parade Meister Breeze Chapman. The skies cleared and things went off without a hitch as Breeze again circled the wagons to get it all covered!

* Mrs. Mendoza and the Multi-Cultural Club. The HoCo dance kicked it again this year;

* Ms. Robin and the Leadershp Crew. All week long there was fun to be had....bobbing for apples, hot dog contest, dress up days;

* All of the volunteers who contributed to the fun. Thanks to Mr. Noble for announcing the parade and Powder Puff, Mr. Ruiz for He-Man Vball announcing, Mr. Ford for running the stadium scoreboard and leading the Wednesday night crew in the concession stand. And our officiating crews for both events (Mr. and Mrs. Potts at vball and the football coaches at Powder Puff...Q, TD, TMoore and Mr. Clyde);

* Mr. DeRoest and the always-dangerous PHS Marching Band and Color Guard rocked it at halftime of Friday's game and then hit the road to go compete in Eugene the next morning;

* PHS Custodial Crew for putting  up with all of our messes and always getting the Pirate Ship ready for the next day;

* Mrs. Harper and Mr. and Mrs. Shilts for all their support of Pirate Football this season;

* Dana Morales, our new National Anthem legend at the P;

* The Junior Class for winning both of Wednesday night's competions;

* The Senior Class for being good sports (well, pretty good sports) when they didn't win. And for being exceptional during  our annual Toga Run! 

Best wishes to Pirate Cross Country boys competing at State and Marching Band when it heads to Napa in a couple weeks. 

Keeping Being Pirates....BE Strong, BE Respectful, BE Kind, BE On-Time!!!

October 2, 2023

If you only look at the scoreboard, last week was a tough one for PHS fall sports. We didn't do a lot of winning. But we definitely did a huge amount of growing. Every game we play is part of the "growing process" and only makes us better. The close games are amazing for helping us build character. We will get there folks...just keep trusting the process!

* Great work by our Drama Department in staging Twelve Angry Jurors. Like our sports teams, Drama had a few challenges along the way. When it was all said and done after Saturday night, we had completed a three-night run in front of the largest crowds for a PHS production in several years. Some big energy in the Rose Street Theater. Props to girls' soccer and boys' soccer for being part of the audiences. Well done Mr. Doty and crew!

* We still have room to enroll in Zero Period. Folks, we need to get bigger, stronger and faster if we're going to compete on a consistent basis. Close games are often decided by who is stronger....physically and mentally. Just show up at Zero Period if you're not already enrolled (Monday-Thursday at 7:15 am);

* Speaking of getting stronger, congratulations to Football (71 percent) and Cheerleading (55 percent) as the programs with the highest percentage of fall sports student-athletes enrolled in Zero Period.

* We're starting Wednesday School this week. Time to clean up attendance issues folks. Get to class on time and Wednesday School won't be part of your radar!

Win the Week PHS. Go Pirates Go!!!

September 18, 2023

* Absolutely love how Pirates are supporting Pirates at our events. All of our home contests have included sizable student sections, making our game nights a ton of fun. Our growing Cheer program is connecting with the crowd and band/color guard are loud and proud. Plus, those three groups worked together on a "mash-up" show after Band/Guard debuted the first two movements of its fall show on Friday night. Now if we can only get that football scoreboard to work!!!

* Buying gun powder wasn't on the job description when I took this job almost seven years ago! But it's a big part of a Pirate football night. Thanks to Ian and CW Tringolo for being our Cannon Guys, delighting the crowd in the process with a cannon blast after every Pirate score;

* Film sessions are starting to become common place for our sports teams. Student-athletes have access to game film and coaches are carving out time to study opponents with their teams. Remember...success depends upon prevous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. - Confucius

* Confucious also says that our teams need to get stronger. Folks, we need more of you in the weight room. It's pretty apparent that our opponents are usually bigger, faster and stronger than we are. This is something totally within our control (along with attitude and effort). And there's still room in Zero Period, which was originally designed at PHS with student-athletes in mind!

September 12, 2023

Rockin' the house last week with a bunch for the "good stuff" mailbox on the Pirate Ship...

* Boys' Soccer has a memorable visit to Portland last weekend. Two games for both varsity and JV in about 18 hours plus a trip for the varsity to the Timbers vs. LAFC soccer match on Saturday night. Summer fundraising covered the tickets, which included some pretty cool on-field VIP access for the fellas. And after the match, LAFC part-owner Will Ferrell strolled right past the team. We'll see if any of the Pirates get tagged for a cameo in Elf 2!!!

* Ton of energy at 1 Pirate Plaza last week, including a pretty sweet pep rally on Friday to set the stage for our home football opener. We're making some serious progress on the field.

* Huge shoutout to Figaro's Pizza of Phoenix. Mikah, Amanda and the Figaro's Crew have been super supportive of PHS Athletics and Activities. Figaro's donated pizza for all fall sports teams over the past few weeks and is always there to support our school and students. Thank you Figaro's!

* Hoping the OSAA and National Federation of High Schools start taking a look at soccer ejections. No other sport removes players from a game as swiftly as soccer. Yellow cards are fine and provide a warning...do it again and you're done. But when it goes right to red that's not always fair...especially when the offending player is disqualified for the next match.

* Lots of PHS sports in-person and online this week. The new NHFS cameras are working great. Check out a broadcast if you can't make it to a game.

September 2, 2023

Busy first week of PHS fall sports games and meets is in the books. Here we go…

• Props to our friends at North Bend High School for hosting our marching band and color guard program Aug. 29-31. The Pirates got some great work done in a smoke-free setting as they continue prep for the fall competition season. We’ll look forward to their debut Friday night at our home football opener;
• Speaking of color guard, they're again working with our growing cheer program for a “mash-up” show during the fall season;
• Cheer growth has been impressive, up to 14 on the roster. Coach M and the gang are making incredible progress. Cool to see a lot of them at volleyball on Tuesday night;
• Pirate cross country got a little muddy on Friday morning. And they loved it during the Bill Springhorn Classic in Redding. Mr. Cornet has a whole bunch of photos from the fun on the team XC page on Facebook;
• Impressed with this incoming freshmen class. The Class of 2027 is having a big impact on our fall sports programs;
• The long-awaited debut of our boys’ soccer team is set for Tuesday night at Eagle Point. And then a roadie to the other P-Town for a couple of high-profile friendlies next weekend. And then a Timbers’ game;
• Our new Pixellot cams are working great in the main gym and stadium. All home events in those locations this fall are being streamed on the NFHS Network. We shared four home contests this week and had three of our road events broadcast. Pretty good/affordable deal to see the Pirates in action if you can’t make it to the games. Details here;
• In case you’ve been under a rock, the school year starts on Tuesday for all freshies and new students. On Wednesday for everyone else. 8:15 start time EVERY DAY at PHS this year, with early release on Wednesdays. Here's the skinny;
• Thanks to everyone who helped get rid of the smoke. Nice work:
• Athletics and Activities contain a lot of teachable moments. Pirate varsity football got more than a few lessons on Friday night against the best team in our conference. And they were back on the field and in the classroom on Saturday morning, about 11 hours after getting off the bus. As hard and cliché as it might be…trust in the process folks. It’s gonna pay off;