Marblehead Names Sports Complex After Former Coach, AD Alex Kulevich

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The Marblehead High athletic complex will be renamed after longtime teacher, football coach and athletic director Alex Kulevich after the School Committee voted unanimously to support the initiative following a petition and dozens of public comments and letters supporting the honor.

"Last week we had a beautiful presentation by his family and throughout the week our inboxes have been overflowing with beautiful words of commendation for Mr. Kulevich," School Committee Vice Chair Sarah Fox said Thursday night. "There's been so many very, very personal stories. We've heard from people from Wisconsin, all over the country really, who have chimed in. We've heard from people who were students, were colleagues, were parents in the system.

"What I thought was really wonderful is that we even heard from some Swampscott athletes that played at the time you were coaching and talked about how wonderful you were even as an opposing coach."

Kulevich attended the meeting and called his time in Marblehead "an outstanding thing."

"You can't do it alone," he said. "I am very thankful for an awful lot of good people — coaches, parents, student-athletes — they made it. I was on the sideline watching them. If you look back on the time, there were a lot of good things that were happening.

"I think the key thing that we tried to promote is that you were there first as a student. Beyond being a student, we actually wanted you to try to get involved. I never forced anybody to go wherever. Not even my own kids. I had eight kids and they could go all over the place. But I wanted them to study and also get involved. That's the thing I really preached. Hopefully, it worked."

He said during the naming campaign he was moved with "all the nice things (people) said relative to their involvement in Marblehead, what they accomplished and where they are today."

"I am just so blessed," he said. "I am appreciative of the award. But the award really goes to all the people who were able to do the things they wanted at Marblehead High School.

"I think when people are involved they do much better academically. That's basically my story."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)