Parent Takes on New Role in Wayland Athletics

The boys' and girls basketball teams will have an all-around athletic advocate announcing their games when the season begins this fall.

Eric Schwartz is on-board to handle the announcing duties for the first basketball season the Warriors will play in their renovated Field House.

Wayland High School Athletic Director Justice Smith said that Schwartz and his wife, Janet, have been active supporters of Wayland athletics for some years, with two of their children currently attending (and competing for) WHS.

In fact, Schwartz already has some sports announcing experience -- he began handling those duties at swim meets a couple of years ago as he has two daughters on the team.

"Eric has been involved in my interview committee for the hiring of varsity coaches as well as being a generous supporter of the high school baseball program," Smith said. He added that the husband and wife team were also instrumental in founding the Wayland Water Warriors program along with their daughter, , who was named a MIAA/NESN Athlete of the Month in April.

Water Warriors is a program designed to provide Wayland elementary and middle school METCO students water safety and swimming instruction.

"He will do an excellent job for the basketball programs here at Wayland," Smith said.

Schwartz said he made the decision about five years ago to "switch gears" in his job as a trader and devote his free time more to Wayland athletics.

"Sports played a very large role in my life (helped me get into college), and I coach football, basketball and baseball year-round here in town," he wrote in an email.

"I truly respect the way Dennis Dougherty, head basketball coach, challenges and teaches his players," Schwartz continued, "and when I heard from [Smith] that WHS needed an announcer, I was happy to help."

Smith needed to replace both his football announcer and basketball announcer for the upcoming seasons. In the end, he didn't have to reach far beyond the Wayland athletic community to find replacements, with Schwartz agreeing to handle the basketball duties and stepping back into the press box for football games.