--- an insider's look at the job of athletic director Mike Penrose as he wraps up his second year at the helm
Often seen working away in his office or roaming the varios athletic complexes at Lawrence North, athletic director Mike Penrose is wrappin up his second year in charge of a major school's athletics. His role wasn't always in athletics, yet he finds himself here today and his journey and tenure are more than meets the eye.
This is your second year as Athletic Director. What do you think of this job? Does it meet your initial expectation?
I love this job. This is something that I’ve been wanting to do since I stopped coaching. I’ve been here for twenty-three years. Lawrence North has been my life. My first eighteen years I was a math teacher, then I was the swim coach, and also helps with the baseball team. Prior to this job I was an assistant principal for three years, and now this is my second year as athletic director.
What part of your job you like the most? Why?
I love watching teams. I love seeing the development of young people. I love the excitement that high school athletics generates. I love seeing how proud kids are representing their school. I enjoy the young people trying to reach their goals, working hard and seeing it paid off. The idea of leading to success down to classrooms and the community, that’s what I like.
Is there anything that surprised you in this job? Something that you wish you knew when you accepted it?
Not really. I knew what I’m getting into, because I worked closely with Dr. Nesbit and Mr. Zeller as a coach, and I supervised several athletic events as assistant principal. I was very prepared in my role based on different experiences I had, as I know ins and outs of what it took to run an athletic department.
How is your working relationship with Mr. Zeller, your assistant director?
Once I got to this job, having Mr. Zeller as somebody I could go to, that was extremely helpful, because he has been an athletic director himself for number of years. Just working with him make the transition very easy.
Dr Nesbit (the district athletic director), was your predecessor in this job. How is your working relation with him?
We worked together for number of years, and we had a really good working relationship. It is very good to have him to be able to call for advices, and also as an advocate for us in the central office.
What has been your biggest challenge so far in this job? How did you resolve it?
Thinking back, I haven’t really faced one. If there is any issue, I tried to work the problem and get a solution that is amicable to all parties.
How is the athletic facility renovations taking your time?
It’s stacking up a lot of time, but we want to make sure we did that right. My time over the last year has really been involved with those types of meetings. We are looking for solutions on how both inside and outside constructions are going to help our student athletes in long term. We still have a lot of things that are in the process.
Last question: Terry Bradshaw or Ben Roethlisberger?
Well, Bradshaw was 4-0 in Super Bowl, and Roethlisberger is 2-1, so I’d have to go with Bradshaw. But Roethlisberger is close second!
An edited version of this interview appeared in the 19 May 2017 edition of North Star, the student newspaper of Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis. This would also my final piece in a year-long stint with the amazing faculty and staff members.
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