How a Long Island athletic director created a 1-on-1 avenue for student-athletes to share their experiences

Joe Mercado wanted a deeper connection with the student-athletes in the Middle Country School district. 

He wanted to know how they felt about their overall high school experience. He wanted to know what their favorite moments were and why. He wanted feedback on what he could do better as the director of athletics in the district.

Mercado didn’t send out a questionnaire. He wanted to create a more personal one-on-one scenario for the student-athletes at Centereach and Newfield High Schools to talk to him openly, so he started "Take A Lap." It's a chance for selected student-athletes to walk with him around the high school track.

Mercado has been making the seven-minute walk around the track since 2023.

“It’s really developed into something special since we started,” said Mercado, in his 12th year guiding the Middle Country program. “Coaches get the chance to make a connection with their athletes. And as the director of athletics, I wanted to make a similar connection where I could learn from them and build from that knowledge. In return there would be feedback to help me do my job better.

“I can handle criticism,” he added. “We can always improve in what we do. But we must listen. We take a lap together and I use the GoPro and videotape the conversation. It’s been great.”

Mercado then posts the video on the school district website and social media for all to see. And he does it in its raw unedited version.

“No editing, and everyone loves it,” he said. “You get to know the athlete and their true thoughts and feelings. And I never know where the conversation is going to take us. It could go in any direction and that’s fine.”

So, what kind of topics are on the student-athletes' minds?

"Over the years we’ve had some excellent suggestions. Some have been implemented and some have not," Mercado said. "The students asked for better publicity for teams. They want to ensure equity between the two high schools. They want to increase the student involvement as spectators at games. They would like to see an increase in practices across all the three levels [middle school/junior varsity/varsity practicing together]." 

How did it get started?

“We tried doing a podcast with Max Martin, a former student, in 2020 to get some of the athletes’ stories out there,” Mercado said. “We did one and it was terrific — a great idea. And then we got hit with the pandemic and had to stop and the idea kind of slipped away.” 

Until 2023, when Mercado came up with “Take A Lap."

He does two per athletic season, a total of six for a school year.

“I want each one to be special,” he said. “We’re doing a small percentage of students with this. I see them at games and look for leadership skills and what they offer to their teams. And we go out and walk and get to know them beyond the field or the court and talk about everything, including their goals and favorite moments in high school.”

Mercado recently walked with Newfield's four-sport athlete Brandon Seddio on a brisk April afternoon. Seddio, the ace of the Wolverines' pitching staff, had requested to ‘take a lap.’

Mercado asked Seddio about his favorite memory in high school. The answer surprised him.

Seddio told him that he remembered being an eighth-grade spectator at the Suffolk County soccer finals and watching Newfield's varsity team play for the Class AAA title.

“My favorite moment because of the anticipation of playing in the varsity soccer program,” Seddio said. “I was looking forward to it.”

Seddio and Mercado walked side by side, sharing thoughts and laughing together. Seddio is quite the well-rounded athlete. He kicked for the football team, played soccer, ran indoor track and is the captain of the baseball team. He’s committed to play baseball at St. Joseph’s University in Patchogue, where he will major in business.

He also shared some of his difficulties academically and how he’s overcome those obstacles.

"I’m very lucky to build a comfortable relationship with them,” Mercado said. “There are personal questions about academics, athletics and family life and I want them to trust me. And they can tell me what could be done to make the high school experience even better.

“It is a fun, simple way of getting to know kids. It was nonintentional and turned out to be something I love doing. I like hearing the different things that come out of their minds about how they view athletics and school. What stresses them and what makes them nervous. What do they fear and get anxious about. The walks teach me about them.”

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.