The 2022-2023 school year should be exciting for Seckman athletics.
Nothing would please Tracy Schmidt more.
Schmidt is the school’s new activities director, taking over July 1. He was hired by unanimous vote of the Fox C-6 Board of Education at its June 21 meeting.
Schmidt will be paid $101,444 as activities director and high school assistant principal. He replaces Ryun Kasten, who was AD for six years before leaving to be assistant principal at Herculaneum High School.
Schmidt had been the AD at Hazelwood East the past three years. He has taught and coached at Hazelwood Central, University City High and Crystal City and was assistant women’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. from 2004-2007. He also was an assistant and head coach for the Maryville University baseball team from 1999-2004.
Schmidt’s first days in Imperial were spent meeting the teachers, coaches and sponsors.
“We have the opportunity here to be a great athletic and activity program in the area,” Schmidt said. “We have the facilities and support from the administration and we have successful programs. This is a destination opportunity.”
Schmidt grew up in Ballwin and graduated from John F. Kennedy High, a Catholic school that closed its doors in 2017. He was a four-sport athlete for the Celts before playing baseball and basketball at William Jewell College in Liberty. He transferred to Maryville University in St. Louis, where he played for and was head coach of the baseball team.
Schmidt has five degrees: two bachelor’s, in business administration and history, a masters in arts and administration and an MBA from Maryville, and an educational specialist degree from Lindenwood University.
“I’m pleased the district supported the hiring of Tracy Schmidt,” said Jeff Krutzsch, principal at Seckman High. “This is such a critical time to have a quality activities director with the many obstacles facing high school athletic departments today. From transportation woes to officials shortages, the AD office needs to be a well-oiled machine to adapt on the fly.
“Tracy is a proven winner who is both detail-oriented and no-nonsense, and he will excel in this role. His previous experiences working in the Suburban Athletic Conference and in collegiate athletics give him a head start in helping the (Seckman) activities department continue to grow.”
Hazelwood East, Schmidt’s previous stop, was once a football powerhouse, winning championships in the state’s largest classification in 1989, 1995 and 2008 and coming in second twice.
“In my three years there, I had great relationships with the people,” Schmidt said. “I was (in the Hazelwood School District) for 14 years and I had great relationships with the students. We had success on and off the field. We did a lot of great things there; our baseball team won the conference for the first time. Our football team (was) improving. The volleyball team won conference. There’s a brand-new weight room and basketball court, some infrastructure pieces to get the kids excited.
“I think I left it in better shape than I found it.”
Now Schmidt steps into an athletics department with burgeoning superstar talent and a wrestling program that annually churns out individual state champions and team trophies.
Senior Cole Ruble is one of the most exciting and most feared football players in the state. Opposing defenses grasp at air when the Jaguar quarterback gains the edge and starts his sprint to the end zone, where he’s arrived 50 times in the past two years. In the decade prior to Ruble and head coach Nick Baer’s advent two years ago, the Jaguars finished winless twice and with one win twice. They’re 14-6 the past two years and set the school record with nine wins a year ago.
Senior Anthony Westervelt rounded into an all-Suburban Conference (Blue pool) first-team basketball player and led Seckman with 14 points per game last season. The 6-2 guard made 68 percent of his shots from the field. With the help of Westervelt’s floor leadership, the Jaguars won twice as many games this winter (16) as they had the year before.
Since 2011, the Seckman wrestling team has won five Class 4 state trophies. In February, the Jaguars finished second in the state, their highest finish ever. Seckman took 11 wrestlers (out of 14 weight classes) to state and five won medals, including Ruble’s title at 160 pounds. This upcoming season looks just as promising.
“Being a former athlete and a Division I coach, I know the pressures that go along with being a top athlete,” Schmidt said. “The recruitment process is something I bring to the table. I understand it – being there and making sure the students are taking in the right information.”
While top athletes and winning make the athletic experience more enjoyable, Schmidt said Seckman still bases athletics within an educational framework in which coaching jobs aren’t dependent on winning. He added that while he’s extremely competitive and wants to win, that’s not the end game.
“I want to make sure all of our programs and students are supported,” he said. “That’s why I got into education; to do what’s best for students. I want all of our students to be involved. That’s a big thing with my athletic philosophy. I’m a believer in plus-one. Whether it’s a club, drama, sports. I want them to learn life skills while they’re here to prepare them for when they graduate. Every study shows students involved in one or two things after school do better academically, socially and physically.”
Although not in the same conference, Seckman plays Windsor, its closest neighbor, in multiple sports every year. The Jaguars and Owls met in boys and girls basketball last year, with Seckman winning two close games.
Schmidt has extra motivation to beat Windsor. His wife, Kim, has been head coach of the Owls girls basketball team for nine years.
“I’m looking forward to beating Windsor when we play them,” said Schmidt with a grin.