by Addi Kratochvil, GHS Blue Ink
Some people were wondering where Garretson High School teacher Kevin Steckler was the other week. Steckler was in Deadwood at the annual South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association athletic director conference, where he was recognized as the Region 5 Athletic Director of the Year. This should come to no surprise due to how much he does for sports and the community.
Steckler has been coaching for 35-plus years; whether it was football, basketball, track or just simply helping with other activities.
He said that he wanted a new challenge in his career.
Steckler said, “There was just a coincidence that the athletic director position became open, I thought this would be a new challenge for me to guide every sport and every activity. So I approached Mr. Johnson and he took a chance on me, and now I’m in my sixth year of being an activities director.”
Steckler has the job of making sure that coaches and players understand the rules and guidelines, not just from the school but also from the South Dakota High School Activities Association, of the game they’re playing or coaching. Also, he makes sure that the team has what they need such as new footballs, soccer nets, or anything that becomes a necessity for the sport. Another duty is scheduling, both officials for the games and the games themselves.
Which comes down to all the budgeting tasks he needs to manage, by providing what all activities need.
Steckler does not just handle sports he handles all activities such as oral interp, one act play, band and chorus.
Steckler said jokingly, “Every coach is like a child; they always want something.” Which he could relate to because he coached for 30 plus years and always wanted something to better his team. Budget wise sometimes he has to say no because he didn’t factor that into the sports budget that he plans months in advance.
He also is in charge of making sure that all kids have their grades up; he has to handle the parents. Steckler said that he enjoyed the new challenges and learning about some of the sports he didn’t know a lot about before such as soccer, volleyball, and wrestling.
Steckler received his award at the athletic directors conference in Deadwood that was March 30-April 1. The region coordinator contacted him and said he was the recipient of the award.
Steckler said, “The cool thing about this award is that you were chosen by your peers, which makes this award even more special because they walk in the same shoes every day and go through the ups and downs, the highs and the lows.”
