Faculty: Where are They Now? Featuring Jim McKinzie

Jim McKinzie, Sterling High School educator from 1959-1991

1. How would you describe your years at SHS?
I’d say my 33 years as a teacher and coach were very rewarding. Sterling was a good place to teach and a nice community in which to raise our kids.

2. Were you involved in any of the clubs and/or activities at SHS?
I spent most of my time coaching football and boys’ and girls’ basketball. Other than that, I was also the junior class advisor in the late 50s and early 60s. Those juniors were pretty sharp and came up with some great ideas for prom decorations. I was maybe involved in some other clubs part-time, but coaching took up most of my time.

3. What brought you to girls’ basketball and the state championship team?
I was fortunate enough to have been co-coach for the girls’ basketball team in 1977 when they won the first state championship. I had been helping Sue unofficially, so one day she asked if I could just come help. The nice thing was that I didn’t know how to coach the girls any differently than the boys, so I basically treated them the same. The girls were willing to try and do everything I asked. I helped coach them for about 4 years. After I retired, I volunteered to help Phil Smith at practice until he retired from coaching girls' basketball.

4. What are some of your fondest memories of teaching at SHS?
I really enjoyed the kids and enjoyed teaching Health and P.E. As much as I enjoyed the kids in the classroom, I really enjoyed interacting with kids in the hallway. I could joke with them and be more relaxed. I also really enjoyed watching athletes develop as athletes and develop as fine young men and women. I loved forging strong friendships with many of the teachers and administrators. I still have a lot of those good friends. The state tournaments were also wonderful, but sometimes I wish I could go back and not coach, so I could sit back and enjoy it more, rather than be all wrapped up and stressed about what was going on.

5. Could you describe the changes that occurred at the high school over the course of your career? How students changed, the town changed, the school changed, etc.?
One thing that changed often was the size of the student body. We had about 1800 students in the 70s, but by the time I retired, I think we had less than 1200. It really was a reflection on the community because the town was booming in some of those years because we had the mill, National, and Lawrence, but you could tell those were starting to decline even in the late 70s; sometimes it felt that the success of the girls’ basketball team was the town’s shot in the arm or pick-me-up. I’ve also been very pleased at how far special education has come. When I first started, we didn’t really have anything for special education, but by the time I retired, it had really started to be a presence. I think it’s done a wonderful job helping kids who may have been overlooked before. The same is true of the advanced classes the high school now has. However, it also seems to me that kids seem to be under more stress and have more concerns now than when I first started teaching.

6. What have you been up to since leaving SHS?
My wife, Lenore, and I volunteer at the First United Methodist Church. We also have a second home in Wisconsin, so we spend quite a bit of time up there. Our kids have lived all over (France, Norway, Australia, Switzerland), so we spend a lot of time traveling there and to the Minneapolis and Cleveland suburbs and Yorkville where some of our other kids now live. We go around and just enjoy the grandkids.

7. What are some of your favorite activities?
I like to travel, and in particular I love to see the countryside. I play a little golf. My wife and I walk a lot, and I’m also an avid reader, especially spy stories and mysteries. I also oil paint as a hobby. I try to stay pretty active.

8. What did you most enjoy about your time at SHS?
Working with young people and hopefully teaching them some values that would help them prepare for the real world. I also really enjoyed the teams I coached, regardless of whether they won the state tournament or whether they struggled throughout the year. I was so proud of those teams with kids who did their best, even if they didn’t win many games.

9. What is one thing you hope your students learned from you?
I hope that I helped them develop some values that they stuck with and that they developed some goals that they put out for themselves as they went through high school and in their career. I hope I taught them to enjoy their friends but to always keep their values. My dad once said that coaches should not judge themselves on their win and loss record but on what kind of people their athletes become, and I think that’s very true. You just want your kids to become good people (not necessarily good or famous athletes) further down the road.

10. Do you have any advice for any future students or teachers at the high school?
Teachers have to remember that they don’t know what kind of load kids come to school with. Teaching the subject is really only half the job; it’s just as important, if not more, to reach out to the kids outside of the classroom and to set an example for the students in and out of the classroom. Kids should keep to their values and set goals. Athletes should always remember that, whether they like it or not, putting on that jersey makes them a role model, and this is true on and off the playing field. Athletes should remember that kids look up to them and should always set an example.