Earlier this year, three seniors who wanted to make a difference in the Jesuit community approached Coach Andrew Civello, assistant golf and tennis coach as well as freshman health educator, to moderate their Anglers’ Club, which is dedicated to learning to fish and appreciating the fishing experience.
Elated by the opportunity, Coach Civello recognized that “the Jesuit seniors are taking the initiative for the community,” paying compliments to Michael Scanlin ’12, Mac Maguire ’12, and Christian Bartholomew ’12. Civello explained: “They approached me asking if I wanted to be the moderator for their club. I, myself, absolutely love to fish. My grandpa taught me how when I was younger.”
The Anglers’ Club is still in its infancy stages as Coach Civello and company try to plan for future meetings, fundraisers, and field trips as the new semester rolls into place. Scanlin, Maguire, and Bartholomew are currently speaking with Coach Civello about a community service event with the Notre Dame School and possibly the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas.
The club would take the kids and their parents from the Notre Dame School as well as anyone who wants to join from the Jesuit community and the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas on a fishing excursion. Coach Civello said that there would be an informational meeting or workshop prior to the trip to teach everyone “how to be safe when flinging something around with a hook on it.”
The Student Council provided the Anglers’ Club with a cordial $1,200 check. In addition, Scanlin explained that the club has created T-shirts to help spread the word about their new addition to the Jesuit community. “Although there is not a Moodle page up and running, I gladly created a Facebook page for people to ‘Like,’” said Scanlin.
For those shy few who fear failure, one does not need to be an expert angler to join the Anglers’ Club. “There are no prerequisites because it is not a hard sport to learn,” said Coach Civello. “One of the hardest things about it is the ability to bait your own line.”
Both Coach Civello and President Michael Scanlin agree that the goal of the Anglers’ Club is to pass on the legacy to the younger kids. They need to get other people involved if their club wants to stay afloat over the next few years as the office-holding seniors are on the home stretch at Jesuit.
In a closing statement, President Michael Scanlin said, “There are two types of fisherman- those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish.”
