The Fox River Traditional Convention could have a brand new commissioner subsequent season for the primary time for the reason that league’s inception in 2007.
Garry Sievert lately introduced that he’ll step down in July after main the league for the primary 16 years. Sievert has served within the position of commissioner for 3 a long time, together with different conferences such because the Gulf, Northeastern and Olympia.
“I’ve acquired a bit little bit of a well being downside, I’ve acquired two new grandchildren to spend time with,” Sievert mentioned. “It is simply time. Thirty years is a very long time. I’ve attended 4 completely different conferences. It was expertise.”
Sievert was a biology instructor at Bay Port for 32 years and served because the Pirates’ boys basketball coach and assistant for the ladies crew. Sievert was additionally a WIAA official for 50 years and is a member of the Inexperienced Bay Officers Affiliation Corridor of Fame.
He has labored exhausting in his position as FRCC commissioner. This contains serving to to develop schedules for all sports activities, scheduling officers for athletic occasions, accumulating and sustaining statistics, updating the web site, ordering awards and coordinating all convention conferences.
Sievert spends two or three hours on the job day by day. Even happening trip may be tough. When he returned house from a current journey to Florida, his inbox had greater than a dozen emails ready for a response.
Regardless of the time dedication, Sievert could make changes when the autumn season begins, and he has no considerations to deal with.
“Oh, I will miss it,” she mentioned. “The principle factor was relations. I’ve had nice relationships with athletic administrators, coaches and principals.
“I’ll miss that connection, however it is going to give me time to do a few of the touring that my spouse and I wish to do whereas I can nonetheless stroll.”
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FRCC will change Sievert with the duo of Dave Steavpack and Steve Kestly, two names acquainted to native prep fans.
Steavpack retired in June after greater than three a long time as schooling and AD at Ashwaubenon from 2002 to 2014 and Manitowoc from 2014 to 2022. Earlier than coming to Ashwaubenon, he spent eight years as a instructor and coach at Manitowoc.
Steavpack served as a member of the WIAA’s Board of Supervisors from 2017-2022 after being a part of the group’s advisory board from 2011-2017.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to work with FRCC’s athletics administrators and principals in selling education-based athletics in Northeastern Wisconsin and the state of Wisconsin,” mentioned Steavpack. “It is going to be thrilling to share the place with my good pal and former school roommate, Steve Kestley.”
Kestley has been a fixture in native sports activities for many years and is the son of the late Fred Kestley, who received 543 video games in 38 seasons because the boys basketball coach at Pulaski earlier than being inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Affiliation Corridor of Fame in 1998.
Kestley adopted in his father’s footsteps and have become a basketball coach, taking his first job on the age of 27 at Inexperienced Bay East.
He led the Purple Devils to their first two WIAA state match appearances in 1993 and 1996.
Kestley led East for eight seasons earlier than stepping down in 1997 and serving two years as AD. On the time of his departure, he was this system’s all-time winningest coach with 113 wins, a feat that stood till Rick Rosinski surpassed him in 2014.
He additionally coached West De Pere for ten years till his retirement in 2009. He was an assistant coach for Dave Shaw on the Pulaski crew that received the Division 2 state championship in 2013.
“I’m excited concerning the alternative and to work with Dave as commissioner of the FRCC,” Kestley mentioned. “I have been concerned in highschool observe and subject all my life via my youth working with my dad. … I’m grateful for the chance that FRCC has given Dave and me to proceed to be concerned in highschool athletics.”
After Steavpack and Kestley take over for Sievert on July 1, they plan to separate their duties in accordance with their strengths.
“Garry Sievert has supplied FRCC with constant management and an organized course of since FRCC’s existence (2007),” Steavpack mentioned. “Our expectation is to keep up this consistency and proceed to develop the FRCC model.”
Sievert joked that it might take two individuals to interchange him. Can be assembly with Steavpack and Kestli twice a month for the following few months to assist make the transition as easy as doable.
He was requested if he had any recommendation to supply the 2.
“You want three abilities,” Sievert mentioned. “Group, communication and downside fixing. I feel these are the three principal qualities it’s best to have once you begin this enterprise.”
