Most people know North for its athletics: the vivacious games, skilled athletes, and the endless devotion stemming from the staff that organizes each event. Behind the desk of the athletic department at North sits Cathy Kruse, the administrative assistant to the athletic director, working alongside the AD and other athletic assistants to bring the magic of our sporting events to reality. From equipment to transportation, budget, and communication, Kruse does it all.
With 26 competitive athletic programs from football to badminton and bass fishing, North has no shortage of sporting opportunities available to students. There are often upwards of ten sports running at once in any given season, so it comes as no surprise the amount of work that goes into managing them. Working year-round, Kruse strives to ensure that each event runs smoothly and every party involved is satisfied. As of this February, she has already begun setting up for the spring season alongside maintaining the winter one.
“We just opened up spring registration. So, as these registrations are flowing through, I make sure all the physicals are entered and up to date, I add them to our activities in E-School so we can pull eligibility reports on them weekly,” said Kruse.
Ensuring that each athlete registered is consistently eligible includes the task of pulling each student’s grades on a weekly basis and sending them to their coaches, keeping the teams on track to succeed academically and athletically. Communicating with coaches all across the school is arduous in itself, with over 100 of them throughout each sport and season. Her reach extends farther than the school though, with parents and outside organizations needing to be accounted for when it comes to every practice and game.
As the spring season approaches, so too do the challenges associated. Rain, snow, and illness plague the teams as the winter weather persists during outdoor practice and institutes a fast-moving change for everyone involved.
“It all hinges on whether we have [outdoor practice] due to weather. There are a lot of cancellations in the spring and a lot of rescheduling. So if there’s a cancellation, we have to make sure our ground crew knows, that our custodians know, that our officials know, making sure transportation is updated,” said Kruse. “It’s a very quick timeline to let the coaches know, then the parents, then the players.”
Keeping an entire community of parents, coaches, players, and event contributors up to date with every change and requirement is no easy task, as Kruse handles not only communications but budgeting for the entire athletic department. This includes ordering and distributing new equipment, paying the bills, signing and upholding contracts, and fulfilling duties as the ticket manager for North’s sporting events. Even a single event can hold as many as 15 people looking to her for direction, making sure that everything runs smoothly.
“Let’s say [we’re running] a basketball game, right? You have table workers, the people running the scoreboard, and all that. We’re making sure all the different parts are filled and people are helping us for the evening. If it’s an away game, I’m also checking if we have transportation to the event and for home games that we have the facilities,” said Kruse.
Without her extreme care for every one of our sports teams’ success and ability to practice and perform, North would not shine as much as it does today for its outstanding athletics department. It is with the help of Kruse and the athletic staff that we thrive as North Stars.
“I guess at the end of the day, [my most important task] is to really represent North in a good light- taking pride in what we do,” said Kruse. “When people will walk away and say ‘oh my gosh, I loved that.’”
