Coach K. named A.D.
Coach K expands role as athletic director
Marc Kurtz is serving this year as LPA’s first athletic director. The addition is a key one, because the role is a demanding one. Duties include scheduling, lining up facilities, and managing home games. Additionally, there’s arranging referees, ordering uniforms and equipment, arranging transportation, and promoting events.
“We’ve sought to fill this essential position since the first years of the school,” said principal Louis Lemmon. “We’ve talked to people in the past, but no one was a close match who could commit the necessary time to do the job well. It really is a time-consuming and detail-oriented role to coordinate all the various sports and, most importantly, to ensure a Christ-centered approach remains the foundation of each athletic activity. Marc is familiar with our goals and brings a passion for sports and players that is essential to help take us to the next level.”
The new A.D. joins at a time athletics is growing. Cross Country and Men's Volleyball are new this fall, and there is optimism for the adding of Women's Varsity Soccer and Men's Exhibition Soccer in the spring.
While a lot of the sports focus is upon the secondary, Kurtz has a vision for including elementary students in the overall athletic program. On the radar for this year is an elementary basketball camp, operated by the Mariner varsity coaches and players. Sixth grade boys will also be encouraged to participate on the Junior Varsity Men's basketball team. (The ladies have no JV team).
Kurtz is indeed familiar with Mariner athletics, having started on the ground floor with the establishment of LPA’s first basketball teams. This fall, he enters his fourth year of coaching the men’s basketball squad. Last year, in the first year LPA officially played in the SCACS league, he led both the JV and varsity teams to the playoffs. The JV made it to the state tournament in Greenville.
Kurtz is the father of current students Jared (11th) and Alex (9th). Older son Jonathan graduated from LPA last spring and is currently attending Anderson University on scholarship. Marc’s wife Kim has been active in student life activities and student ladies’ fellowship. She is also in her second year of serving as building monitor on Mondays.
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