With the athletic program at Wareham High School coming off one of its strongest winter seasons in recent history, first-year Athletic Director Ed Rodrigues, Principal Scott Palladino, and School Committee members are discussing what else they can do to keep the program growing.

“The winter season was very successful in terms of participation and wins,” said Rodrigues at a meeting of the School Committee Wednesday evening, noting that 140 students participated in winter sports this past season, which is approximately a quarter of the student population at Wareham High. “I think our coaches are doing a pretty good job of getting kids to participate. Hopefully it keeps going.”

Though Rodrigues’ report was mostly positive regarding the state of the athletic program, one issue specifically noted by Rhonda Veugen and Geoff Swett of the School Committee were the academic requirements for student athletes.

Swett, who also coaches the girls tennis team, noted one particular team with 35 participants that had an overall average of only 74 (out of 100).

Rodrigues and Palladino both said that they were in the process of implementing the PowerSchool program, which in this case would allow coaches to access students’ records, including attendance, on a day-to-day basis.

Palladino said they’re in a pilot phase for the program with the current spring sports schedule, and that next year, all three seasons will see the PowerSchool program implemented.

“Coaches are going to have access for that PowerSchool for all their teams,” said Rodrigues, noting that they hadn’t had any students come up as ineligible for the current spring season. “Our criteria is greater than MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) criteria, [but] I’d like to see if we can step it up even more. PowerSchool is going to help coaches monitor their students.”

Rodrigues said that currently, depending on whether students have a seven or eight-class schedule, it’s possible for them to fail two classes and still remain eligible. He said he’d eventually like to see that number reduced to one or none.

“I am going to monitor it on a greater level,” he said.

Members of the committee suggested a potential overhaul of the academic protocol for Wareham’s student athletes.

“High expectations is something that should be written into the handbook,” said Committee Chairman Cliff Sylvia.

Palladino said it’s something they’re looking into for the future, though they’re not ready to make any changes just yet.

“We’ve got a little homework before we can do that,” said Palladino.

Currently, the MIAA requirement is that a student must pass at least four classes in order to participate, while Wareham’s requirement is six.

Officials also spoke about the success of several (winter) teams in particular, including the girls indoor track team, the boys basketball team, and the boys hockey team. They also discussed the state of youth sports in Wareham prior to the high school level, and discussed ways to make them better.

Several committee members commended Rodrigues for the work he’s done in just his first year on the job in Wareham.

“I enjoy it,” responded Rodrigues. “I really enjoy working here.”