New high school expanding sports in Fort Mill

FORT MILL

While Catawba Ridge may be the next high school to open in Fort Mill on people’s minds, St. Anne’s Catholic School also is opening a high school campus here next year and with it comes more sports to the area.

St. Anne’s is a K3-12 private school with a 65-year history. The school created a high school section in 2014 with allows students to begin their academic career at age 3 and continue through their senior year. Starting next school year, St. Anne’s high school grades will be housed at St. Phillip Neri Catholic Church, just acorss the road from Fort Mill High.

In conjunction with the Fort Mill Parks and Recreation Department, St. Anne’s will be using Banks Street Gym to play their volleyball and basketball games.

“Our athletics will be spread out around Fort Mill, Rock Hill and South Charlotte,” said Michele Burns with St. Anne’s School Advancement.

While basketball and volleyball will be in Fort Mill, the school will also be starting a baseball program in partnership with Walnut Grove Christian School, located off Pleasant Road in Fort Mill, close to the N.C. line.

Burns and St. Anne’s Athletics Director John Maynard said the school has simply outgrown its sports facility in Rock Hill. With the addition of baseball, the high school and middle school athletic programs will now have 11 teams.

“We have one gym and it’s not up to high school regulations,” Burns said.

Maynard said 80 percent of their high school age students participated in sports this last school year. He said he believes partnering with Walnut Grove will help create a stronger team and raise the private schools’ profiles.

“This is in the best interest of both schools,” he said.

The new baseball team will be coached by Walnut Grove’s Jeff Zazzaro and will play in the Palisades area of South Charlotte. The middle school baseball team will be coached by St. Anne parents Hans Krause and Paul Rehkow.

Maynard said as the school grows it will continue to look for more athletic space to use.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 6:50 PM with the headline "New high school expanding sports in Fort Mill."