After three years of having two retirees serve as co-interim athletic directors, Riverside-Brookfield High School will have a full-time athletic director in 2018-19.
In November, the RBHS administration will begin interviewing applicants for the position, officially titled the assistant principal for athletics.
When the application period ended on Oct. 31, 45 people had applied for the position.
Administrators hope to bring a recommendation to the Board of Education in December or January. The new hire would not officially begin work at RBHS until July 1, 2018, but making the hire this winter would give the new athletic director time to work with the current co-interim assistant principals for athletics, Tom Domin and John Treiber, and learn about the school and position.
Domin and Treiber had just retired, from Willowbrook and Glenbard South high schools respectively, when they came to RBHS in 2015. They replaced former Athletic Director Art Ostrow, who left RBHS to become athletic director at Hinsdale South High School late in the 2015 school year.
Rather than conduct a rushed search at a time when the new football stadium was being built, RBHS officials decided to bring in two experienced and highly respected athletic directors to share the job.
Domin and Treiber worked well together and have stayed on for two more years after their first year, but officials have now decided that it’s time to fill the position with one permanent employee.
The two interim athletic directors have hired a number of new coaches, notably upgrading the rigor and competitive level in sports such as girls gymnastics, girls swimming and boys golf.
They also oversaw the renovation of the RBHS main gym in 2016.
“Their strengths complement one another and they have worked as a team to ensure the smooth, efficient operation of the athletic department,” RBHS Principal Kristin Smetana said in an email. “Due to their hard work and commitment to RB, they have assisted in reviving the Athletic Boosters and refining procedures and protocols for coaches.”
In addition to supervising athletics, Domin and Treiber have played a role in evaluating teachers. Domin evaluated teachers in the Wellness Department, while Treiber evaluated teachers in Wellness and Applied Arts. The role in evaluating teachers is why the position has been changed from athletic director to assistant principal.
Domin said that he has enjoyed his time at RBHS, saying he felt “rejuvenated” by the job.
“It was kind of like a fresh start again,” Domin said. “Coming into a school that was upgrading its facilities, that was exciting, I thought. The school, to me, has a very good base, sound community. Similar problems. Every school has issues with parents and kids and coaches. That’s pretty much similar everywhere.”
Limited on-campus space makes the work of an athletic director at RBHS especially challenging.
“The facilities are awesome, but that’s not a lot of outside grass, so to speak, to walk out and have games on,” Domin said. “That’s one of the biggest challenges for anybody here, dealing with all the park district facilities and coordinating all the trying to get to and from practices.”
