By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

The “Coaches in the Classroom” feature is a weekly series that spotlights and celebrates coaches throughout Portage County, who spend their days in the classrooms and hallways leading today’s student-athletes to be tomorrow’s leaders.

Today’s spotlight is on Rootstown High School’s Keith Waesch, who is in his 25th year as the athletic director, 29th year as the Rovers’ golf coach and 13th year as the school’s baseball coach.

• What made you want to become an educator?: I have communications and business administration degrees from Mount Union. I started working in the newspaper industry as a writer and then sports editor for five years. However, I received a phone call from Rootstown Superintendent Dr. Savage in the spring of 2001. He asked if I would be interested in the athletic director’s position for the Rootstown Local School District. I was hired a few months later prior to the start of the 2001-02 school year.
• What is your favorite part of your job?: I enjoy interacting with our kids through coaching and watching them participate in extracurricular activities. We have outstanding kids at Rootstown and it’s even more enjoyable when those student-athletes excel in both the classroom and in athletics.
• What have you learned about being an educator that you didn’t know before you started?: I have learned that organization and communication are huge keys to being successful in my profession. Athletic directors who possess those traits succeed and, unfortunately, the ones that don’t are looking for their next job.
• Which teachers influenced you to go into education?: During high school, I worked in the A.D.’s office during my study hall. Mr. Lyle Harsh, our longtime A.D., along with Mr. Doug Mori, one of the best teachers/coaches a student could ever have, and our principal, Mr. Roger Sidoti, encouraged me to consider education as a profession after college.
• Funniest thing that has ever happened to you in a classroom?: My classroom is coaching, an extension of the education process. About 20 years ago, we began our golf season with an 18-hole tournament. A few minutes prior to the start of the tourney, I met with my team to go over the ground rules for that day. I started by telling the team that the rules indicate we are to play “Blue tees” today. I then continued going over the tournament rules and finished by asking the players if they had any questions before they teed off. I noticed a freshman becoming very nervous as I went through the rules. He said, “Coach Waesch, I have a problem.” I said, “What’s your issue?” The freshman said, “I don’t have any ‘blue tees’ in my bag. I only have ‘white tees’ in my bag.” I did everything I could to not burst into laughter before saying, “No. You don’t have to tee up with a ‘blue tee,’ we are teeing off from the ‘blue tees.’ “Ironically, three years later that freshman shot 71 from the “blue tees” at Windmill Lakes to qualify for the state tournament! So needless to say, we have laughed about that question for the past two decades!
• Mentors in your building who have helped you along the way?: I have been lucky to work/coach under some of the best at their profession in southern Portage County. Mr. Doug Mori, assistant A.D., at Rootstown when I arrived in 2001; Mr. John Herchek, the A.D. at Waterloo when I began coaching; and Mr. Steve Matheos, the A.D. for whom I took over for at Rootstown; have all been very helpful along the way. I also learned a great deal early in my career from longtime Rootstown coaches Larry Bailey, Matt Collins and Dave Mullenix.