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Dennett, a Fishkill resident, is in his 12th year as director of physical education, health and athletics at Ossining High School. Prior to that, he was HR Director at Poughkeepsie for the prior two years, and was AD at Hendrick Hudson prior to that, also for two years.
Dennett (pronounced Dah-net) grew up in Queensbury, N.Y., where he was a three-sport athlete, playing football, baseball and basketball before heading to college at SUNY Cortland, where he continued his baseball career.
"I loved playing all three sports," Dennett told Daily Voice recently. "But in college you have to decide on one."
What does he love about his role at Ossining?
"The best part is always building relationships with the student-athletes," Dennett said. "Really what we're trying to do is to give students a great opportunity to perform. Whether it's in PE or health or whether it's on the athletic field."
Dennett said one of the big challenges in high school athletics today is finding people with the time and desire to become a coach.
"I think one of the great challenges is finding people who have the time to put into coaching," he said. "You have to take courses, be certified, you have to be able to practice... you work a lot, and you don't make a lot.
"It's definitely a commitment that passionate people have," he added. "Fortunately in Ossining we have a lot of teachers who want to coach. ... So it's perfect. It's really just an extension of the classroom, and giving the kids an opportunity to do what they like to do."
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