Troyer excited about challenges at Plymouth
PLYMOUTH – New Athletic Director Josh Troyer has hit the ground running.
A long background in sports led the Manchester native to his new challenge at Plymouth.
“I helped out Jeremy Markham (former AD) at Manchester when he was there,” said Troyer. “We reconnected at Huntington North. He’s been helping me know what to look for right away so I don’t miss anything. That’s been really helpful starting off.”
“I grew up in North Manchester, played high school golf, won a sectional there,” he said. “Went to Grace College and played a couple of years there and realized I wasn’t going pro and it probably wasn’t something that I was going to do with the rest of my life. I really enjoyed coaching and thought that was something that I wanted to get into.”
Life was hectic for a while at the beginning of his career.
Troyer started out coaching golf and basketball at Northfield. Not long after he was coaching golf at Manchester and softball at Southwood.
“That was an interesting time but eventually, I got all my coaching at Manchester,” he said “I moved over there to coach JV girls basketball and eventually became their varsity girls basketball coach. I coached varsity girls golf and middle school golf as well.”
It took a little time for Troyer’s career path to become clear.
“I was a sports management major at Grace, got an MBA in sports management at Tiffin University, and realized that was going to lead to a lot of sales and not a lot of being around kids so I transitioned to teaching, got my administrator’s license with the vision of one day being an athletic director and use all of my degrees in a final career field, too.”
Troyer has a specific vision of things he wants to bring to Plymouth.
“Too often we expect kids to be leaders and we don’t teach them how to be leaders,” said Troyer. “We have to help them do that. We aren’t all born leaders but there are ways to grow in that. One of the things I interviewed on is that I would love to bring a leadership program to Plymouth and help them learn how to be leaders.”
“We’ve got a lot of great kids. I’ve met a lot of kids so far. I’ve watched our girls and boys’ basketball teams compete over the last few days. We have a lot of kids who can definitely be leaders but we have to do our part in helping them grow and helping them be prepared to be leaders, not just in athletic programs but in life.”
That vision for the future includes the tradition of Plymouth sports.
“That’s the exciting piece of this, too,” said Troyer. “There is a lot of rich history, for us to grow and get back into in some areas, too. I relish those opportunities and helping support our kids and making them feel like they can do this.”
“We are a 4A school and we are going to compete like a 4A school. Everything that our Athletic Department does will be at a 4A level,” he said. “Making sure how we carry ourselves is in that 4A realm that we can compete with anyone.
“They (athletes) have to put the work in. Our coaches have to have the support they need. Our athletes have to have the support they need. I’m very excited about the history we have that we can connect to but also the history we can make going forward.”
Troyer sees some areas where there could be an upgrade to that 4A mentality.
“I like our website but I don’t think it’s necessarily up to par with a 4A school,” said Troyer. “I know that seems like a silly detail but you are trying to make sure that athletes in the area want to come to Plymouth and want to stay at Plymouth and feel like they are being promoted, too. I feel that was lacking. I want to build that up. When our athletes are done at Plymouth I want them to feel we prepared them for that next level. Whether that’s competing at the college level, whether that’s getting into a trade school, or college, I want them to feel that we are doing our part in the Athletic program as well. Helping them be prepared for that.”
It’s something that he hopes Plymouth athletes will take with them.
“I want them to feel well beyond their time at Plymouth that if they need anything we are going to support them,” said Troyer. “That’s a piece we can beef up.”
The quality of facilities at Plymouth is something that helps.
“We have some great facilities,” said Troyer. “We have some little details that could use spruced up, too. I’m excited to tackle those things and make our athletes feel they are at the best high school in northern Indiana.”
Athletic Departments have one constant need. Money.
Except for coach’s salaries and at Plymouth transportation, the programs are not funded by school budgets. All the money for each sport has to be donated or raised.
“That’s a huge piece to take some of that off our coach’s shoulders,” said Troyer. “I’ve told some of our coaches already. Coaching is a thankless job sometimes. It’s a lot of hours for not a lot of money. Part of that fundraising has to come from my seat.”
He has one vision that has always been a Plymouth tradition.
“We aren’t always going to have a great day,” said Troyer. “The way we carry ourselves is going to be remembered. Our community is going to notice that. People outside of our community are going to notice that. The state is going to notice that. That we are carrying ourselves in the right way.”
“That comes from me, too. I’m not always going to have a great day. The way I carry myself, the way I treat people in the community, even on those bad days, is something that they are going to remember. We are going to help our athletes and our coaches be prepared for those days when things aren’t going well. Anytime you look at championship programs they handle those things. They bounce back. We can control that. We can’t control whether the ball goes in the bucket. If we control those every day, we are going to bring a lot of championships to Plymouth.”
