Stacy, Martin will share mantle of Clinton High athletic director
This will be Rob Stacy’s third year at Clinton High School, and his first year as the co-athletic director, alongside Nate Martin.
Martin and Stacy took over the position after the departure of Brad Collette earlier this year.
“I’m excited about it,” Stacy said. “It’s two young guys who are passionate about sports and the community here in Clinton.”
When asked why the school decided on two co-athletic directors rather than a single person, Stacy could only speculate.
“I think, to be honest, they wanted us to be more involved with sports, and that allows us to be,” he said.
“Especially, it lets us be involved with smaller-tier sports. Like for instance, there’s a golf match today, and I can go to the golf match while Nate is still at the school so we can be two places at once. Also we can feed off each other. We’re younger guys who can help keep each other fresh and moving forward – and like everyone says, two are better than one.”
Stacy stressed that he will still be coaching Clinton baseball, despite his new position, and hopes that between his and Martin’s connections, they will be able to bring more opportunities for Clinton athletes to continue their journeys past the high-school level.
“Nate came from West High School, where he coached football and wrestling, and it’ll be his first year at Clinton,” Stacy said. “With all the contacts we both have from playing college athletics and from coaching, we’re not just limited to baseball or football contacts. We have more between each of us than we would have if either of us were the sole athletic director, so that will hopefully bring in more opportunities for our athletes that want to continue on after high school.”
Stacy said that one important value he wants to stress as an athletic director is that there is success beyond high-school athletics, and their time at the school doesn’t define their entire lives.
“We want to make sure our student athletes are having success not just here but beyond the school,” he said. “Setting them up for success is important. I don’t want them to feel like they only had success at Clinton High School and that was the only place they can have success. [School] is supposed to be a part of their life, but ultimately they should be using what they learn here as building blocks to build an even better life. One thing I think that coaches unfortunately do is put too much of an emphasis on the student’s time at the high school and with the program and saying that that defines them forever. I want to make sure that we aren’t doing that here. What you do in high school doesn’t define you as a person forever.
“Unfortunately, that kind of mindset ends up with too many kids getting done with their high school career and being completely burned out. They have that mindset pushed down their throat that they have to be a certain way or act a particular way, and it burns them out. I think that athletics should be something that enhances your life, not defines it.”
Stacy said that, at least for him, he wants to be a role model for the students of Clinton beyond the field or the court.
“I think one of the big things for me and Nate is just being positive people ourselves and interacting with the students as much as we cant. We want them to be good mothers and fathers and leaders after they graduate. If we want them to be that, then we have to let them see those role models inside and outside the school at all time. We’re hoping to make great citizens and leaders beyond here, not just athletes.”
Stacy ended by saying he thinks it is an exciting time for Clinton High School, with a lot of change that will, hopefully, be for the best, and produce not only better athletes, but better adults and better citizens.
“I think it’s an exciting time for any of our athletes that are about to be here. We have a lot of new coaches, new faces, and new things going on. We’re getting a new softball field, we’re turfing the football field, and looking to resurface our track. There’s a lot of buy-in, and that’s what we need from our students and schools. I’m always the type that wants a challenge, but the ones who challenge themselves are the ones who change the world, and I want the athletes of our system to be the type that always look to challenge themselves.”
