Park Hill, South athletic directors step down

The Park Hill and Park Hill South athletic departments will see the end of an era at the end of this school year. Last week the Park Hill Board of Education accepted the retirements of long-time Park Hill and Park Hill South activities and athletics directors Bill Sobbe and John Sedler. Both have established distinguished careers and reputations as favorites among staff and students in the district. While their accomplishments respectively stand on their own, their stories have a unique personal side that has intersected at several points over the past 30 years to form a key part to both schools’ athletic histories.

Sedler grew up in the district and graduated from Park Hill High School in 1974 before going on to Park College where he played both basketball and baseball. Following graduation in 1978, his first teaching job was in Maryville, Missouri where he coached and worked closely with the coaches at Northwest Missouri State. This is when he first met a standout athlete at the school named Bill Sobbe, a Winnetonka High School graduate.

“John Sedler was the boys basketball and baseball coach at Maryville high when I was in school so I’ve known him since then,” Sobbe said. “He would come to our practices and learn things from our coach. He’s one of the best coaches around, baseball or basketball.”

Sobbe would go on to get drafted and play three years of professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodges in their minor league system where he and Sedler, who had recently accepted a job at Park Hill, would coincidentally share the national limelight.

“In his last year with the Dodgers, there was an article in Sporting News, which was a nationally syndicated magazine. I was head basketball coach at Park Hill and we beat Northtown in seven overtimes, which was a record at the time,” Sedler said. “So there was our article, then right above that there was an article about the first catcher in America to catch Fernando Valenzuela, a bullpen catcher named Bill Sobbe. I’ve still got it at home.”

When Sobbe decided he wanted to come home and get what he called a ‘real job’, he finished his degree and the first person he called was Sedler, even though he wasn’t sure if he would remember him or not.

“It’s hard not to remember him,” Sedler said. “I hired him the next year as my assistant baseball and basketball coach.”

Sobbe would be at Park Hill from 1982-1984 where he initially worked as an in-school suspension supervisor and formed a friendship with a young math teacher at the time named Brad Kincheloe. Sobbe eventually accepted a job at North Kansas City High School where he would teach and coach for 13 years. He was also involved with the Kansas City Royals where he earned a World Series ring as part of the 1985 team. Meanwhile, over the next ten years, Sedler would continue to coach baseball for a short period of time and as head basketball coach. In 1994, he was named an assistant principal and athletics director.

Sedler and Sobbe’s paths wouldn’t cross again until 1998 when the opening of Park Hill South High School created football and baseball coaching vacancies at Park Hill.

“When we divided high schools, he (Sobbe) was teaching at NKC at the time, but he was one of the first phone calls I made asking him if he’d be interested in the head football coaching job at Park Hill,” now Principal Brad Kincheloe said. “He said I’d like to be football coach if that comes with a baseball coaching appointment too. I said “that’d be great” because we had both open at the time.”

Sedler split time as athletic director at both high schools in 1998, but finding out a different arrangement would be better led to the naming of Sobbe as athletic director at Park Hill while Sedler exclusively went to Park Hill South. Since the split between the schools, both schools have more kids participating in activities than they ever did when they were one school. Kincheloe and Sobbe praised Sedler’s performance during the transition.

“Without his help, it wouldn’t have gone as well as it did,” Sobbe said.

“I’d say we’ve been very fortunate that before Bill was here John was, so there’s no question that for 20 years the Park Hill School District has been well supervised in athletics/activities,” Kincheloe said.

Reflecting on his career, Sobbe says people are what have made it so memorable.

“The things I remember the most are the kids, young men and women, who have grown up now and have their own kids who have gone through school here,” Sobbe said. “When you’re in education, your favorite part is seeing kids have success. It’s not always about the star players though. I enjoy seeing kids who started on ‘B’ team basketball freshmen year, but work their way into quality minutes on varsity when they’re a senior. Those are the guys you get the most satisfaction out of because they’ve come the furthest.”

Sedler and Sobbe say some of their personal favorite moments involved having their children go through the schools and being part of some the special moments watching them involved in activities. They mentioned the support of the community and growth of the district as well as some of the favorite moments they likely share with students including playoff games, state championships, and the Park Hill/Park Hill South rivalries.

While both athletic directors have their fair share of memories, they also see some trends developing in high school sports they think are discouraging.

“Too often high school sports are viewed as a vehicle to the college or pro ranks, instead of playing for their school and being part of a well-rounded experience. I think society has just driven it that way,” Sedler said. “We’re seeing so many kids feel forced into specialization where they aren’t able to enjoy some of the other activities they could be involved in. Participating in multiple sports is a lost art anymore.”

Sobbe agreed with the premise by adding that most parents realize the importance of being involved in school, but some have trouble accepting their kids won’t be division one players and don’t understand that an overwhelming majority of scholarships are not full-rides.

“I assume most kids that play enjoy what they’re doing, but if the only reason you’re playing is so you can play at the next level or get a scholarship, it’s probably not for the best reasons.”

The economy and family dynamics have also had an effect on high school sports, Sedler said.

“The economy has put a lot of pressure on family income, so that increases the pressure to capture some scholarship dollars,” Sedler said. “In reality, if you play club sports for all those years and don’t get a full-ride, then you’re barely breaking even.”

There are positive trends as well. Sedler says technology has changed education, remembering the day he was told the district was going to try this new thing called ‘email’ and when they started replacing the typewriters.

“It won’t ever replace a teacher, but it can be used to increase student achievement as a tool. In the old days, the focus used to be about what the teacher was teaching; now it’s about what the student is learning.”

With their personal history and professional achievement, Park Hill and Park Hill South will be missing two significant figures next school year that have established quite a standard. Kincheloe, who worked with both over the years, says there are certain qualities an activities director must have which make them a unique part of a high school, which Sedler and Sobbe exemplify.

“Activities Director has a whole different set of priorities than most assistant principals. It’s the guy who doesn’t mind getting up at an assembly to lead a cheer, a guy that shouts out against the cafeteria to someone to let them know they did a good job. They’re integral to all the things that make a high school in America different than a high school anywhere else.”