For the first time in the history of the Dodge Directors Cup, Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell, and Atlanta’s Marist School and St. Pius X High School have been awarded the trophy in the same year.

The Directors Cup recognizes “those athletic departments in all Georgia High School Association classifications who have excelled and shown superior performance.” For each classification the award is presented in the following categories: the top male program, top female program and top overall program. The 10-year-old award is given by the Georgia Athletic Directors Association.

It was a banner year for the three schools, which posted a total of 14 state championships among them. Marist led the way with a school record of nine. And each of these schools finished with two state runner-up trophies in five different sports.

Blessed Trinity won this year’s Directors Cup for the top overall athletic program for Class AA, a recognition the school received during the 2003-2004 school year. Blessed Trinity has also won the Directors Cup for the best all-around female program three times (2003-2004, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008).

Blessed Trinity athletic director Ricky Turner said, “Winning the overall Directors Cup for the second time (for the best all-around sports program) is very important to Blessed Trinity. It shows that our coaches and players have worked hard to achieve this great honor as a total athletic program.”

Marist School was awarded the Directors Cup for the 10th consecutive year, making it the only school to win the cup every year going back to the award’s inception in the 1999-2000 school year. Marist has won its last nine in Class AAAA but was awarded one when the school competed in Class AAA.

Marist School athletic director Tommy Marshall said the Directors Cup award is a good indicator of the depth of the overall athletic program because it involves both boys and girls teams throughout the year. He added that the leadership of the senior athletes and the ingredients that help create a formula for success contribute to Directors Cup wins.

Marshall said, “The formula at Marist includes a great deal of support from our administration, faculty and staff, booster club and parents, as well as a tremendous work ethic by our student-athletes and coaching staff.”

After finishing second, third or fourth on previous occasions, St. Pius X High School was awarded its first Directors Cup this year, which brought a great deal of excitement and joy to the school. The school was singled out for all three categories: the top boys program, top girls program and the top overall program.

St. Pius X athletic director Mark Kelly said, “To win all three, I believe, speaks to the overall strength of our program, and the fact that we value all of our teams. I am also personally very proud of the fact that out of all of the high schools in Georgia, in all classifications (that is 411 schools), only one school sent every single one of its varsity teams to the state playoffs. That school was St. Pius X.”

Kelly believes that an acknowledgment such as Directors Cup is a reflection on the dedication, enthusiasm and sportsmanship of all the students, coaches, parents and alumni.

Kelly added, “I believe it also speaks to the willingness of everyone to work together for the benefit of the entire school, and I am especially happy that all of our people can be affirmed by this accomplishment.”

Twenty-five Georgia High School Sports Association (GHSA) sanctioned sports are given consideration each year. They include: baseball (men), basketball (men),
basketball (women),
competition cheerleading (women),
cross country (men),
cross country (women),
football (men), golf (men),
golf (women),
gymnastics (women), lacrosse (men),
lacrosse (women),
riflery (men), soccer (men),
soccer (women),
softball – fast pitch (women),
softball – slow pitch (women), swimming (men),
swimming (women),
tennis (men),
tennis (women), track and field (men),
track and field (women), volleyball (women), and wrestling (best finish—dual or traditional).

The eight highest scoring sports for each school by gender are counted toward the Directors Cup standings. Schools earn points based on their final placement in the GHSA state playoffs. Points are awarded in the following six placement categories:

State Champion – 100 points

State Runner Up – 80 points

3rd–4th Place – 60 points

5th–8th Place – 40 points

9th–16th Place – 20 points

17th–32nd Place – 10 points