New Athletic Director Chosen For Lemont High School

LEMONT, IL — Lemont High School District 210 Board of Education has approved the hiring of Mike Sommerfeld as the next Director of Athletics for the school, according to a news release.

Sommerfeld will take over from John Young, who will retire in June after 23 years as Director of Athletics.

The Board of Education unanimously approved Sommerfeld’s selection at its Dec. 18 meeting, the school said. Sommerfeld will assume his post on July 1, becoming just the fifth person since 1959 to head Lemont’s athletic department.

Since the 1959-60 school year, Lemont’s athletic directors have included William Ryan (1959-79), John Jones (1979-91), Al Albrecht (1991-2001) and Young (2001-24).

“Lemont High School has benefitted from great continuity within its athletic department for more than 60 years, including the last 23 years under John Young’s direction,” District 210 Superintendent Mary Ticknor said in a release. “We are so fortunate to be able to add someone with a track record of success at multiple schools, and are excited that Mike Sommerfeld will be able to bring his wealth of experience to Lemont High School.”

A candidate pool that included dozens of applicants was whittled to nine individuals who participated in the first round of interviews, according to LHS. Eventually, a group of four advanced to a final round of interviews that included sessions with a variety of stakeholder groups, including the District 210 Board of Education.

“Lemont High School’s athletic programs are a source of pride for our community,” District 210 Board of Education President Kurt Korte said in a release. “We can’t wait to see what Mike Sommerfeld will do to elevate a department that already has demonstrated so much success locally and at the state level.”

Since 2012, Sommerfeld has served as the Athletic Director at St. Charles East High School, according to LHS. He oversees 30 teams, and also supervises and evaluates all coaches and assistant coaches, and has been instrumental in facility upgrades to the gymnasium, stadium, tennis courts and outdoor track.

Sommerfeld is no stranger to the South Suburban Conference, also having spent 12 years at Argo High School before beginning his tenure at St. Charles East, the school said. Sommerfeld was a social studies teacher at Argo from 2000-05, and was an assistant coach for the baseball, football and girls’ basketball programs. From 2005-12, he served as Argo’s Director of Athletics, supervising an athletic program that included 26 teams.

He began his career in education as an alternative education program teacher at P.A.C.E. Elementary School in Phoenix, Illinois.

A member of the Illinois Athletic Directors Association, Sommerfeld was involved in the creation of the SSC prior to the 2006-07 school year, LHS said. He was President of the SSC’s Athletic Directors Board of Control during the 2009-10 school year, and held the same position for the Upstate Eight Conference during the 2016-17 school year as Athletic Director at St. Charles East. He also served a two-year term on the IHSA’s Cheerleading Advisory Board (2015-17).

Sommerfeld was an all-conference baseball player at Eastern Illinois University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1997. He earned a Master of Arts in School Administration from Lewis University in 2005.