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PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW: UW-Parkside sports information director’s job is a labor of love, by Robb Luehr, Racine Journal-Times
photo, above: via
Journaltimes.com - UW-Parkside sports information diector Steve Kratochvil stands on the court at the DeSimone Gymnasium at the school in Somers. Kratochvil has seen UW-Parkside grow from its earliest days as an NAIA school to becoming the state’s only NCAA Division II institution. Kratochvil is a 1982 graduate of the school.
Steve Kratochvil remembers the earliest days of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Kratochvil, the sports information director at the university in Somers, saw the first turns of dirt by a shovel in the late 1960s of what would eventually become the state's only NCAA Division II institution.
The Racine native graduated from Parkside in 1982 and 16 years later, he became the SID after
Parkside moved from NAIA to Division II and the position was required.
"This place has a gravitational pull on me, I guess," Kratochvil said. "At Highway E and Wood Road, there used to be a pigeon feed store there. My dad raised homing pigeons and we would go over there and I would stare at what was about to be Parkside.
"One day, he took me there and I actually watched the first spade go in the ground. From what he told me, I was fascinated by the place. I went to school here and now I'm working here."
Kratochvil, 50, is the only full-time staff member in the sports information office. He has student help, but no other paid assistants. That makes for some busy days - and busy stretches.
"I once had a streak where I went 81 days without an off day," Kratochvil said. "There's 15 schools in the GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference, Parkside's athletic conference) and I'm the only one who doesn't have a graduate assistant or paid help.
"It can be frustrating. Some schools have two or three full-time people and anything would help. In order for this to be done well here, you need two people, but I don't use that as an excuse. You play the cards you're dealt."
Kratochvil has grown into the job. He was working at the
Burlington Standard Press and had radio broadcasting gigs when he was hired for the SID job in 1998. Former athletic director Lenny Klaver encouraged Kratochvil to apply after Kratochvil's repeated attempts to get information from Parkside for use in the Standard Press.
"When Parkside joined the GLVC, it needed one full-time SID, which they didn't have," Kratochvil said. "He asked if I wanted to apply and I did, but I really didn't know anything about being an SID and there was nobody to learn from.
"I learned how to be an SID from the other SIDs in the conference. And Steve Marovich (the SID at Carthage College in Kenosha) was huge. I went to school when Parkside and Carthage weren't the best of friends and here comes Steve Marovich to teach me a few new software programs for statistics. I thought ‘the Carthage guy is coming over here to help me out, how cool is that?' " Kratochvil said.
In addition to the usual SID duties such as compiling statistics, handling media guides and game-day information and taking care of media requests for information, Kratochvil serves as webmaster for Parkside's athletic web site,
www.parksiderangers.com, and he still works as a broadcaster for men's and women's basketball road games.
Kratochvil's favorite part of the job is dealing with the student-athletes.
"The best rewards are not monetary," he said. "It's when a student-athlete from 10 years ago stops in the office and gives you a hug and asks how you're doing.
"You can't put a price on those things. That's what keeps it fun and that's what keeps me young. The minute you think you have a stressful job and things are bad, someone from the past walks in just to say hello and changes your whole day."
Kratochvil has an open-door policy when it comes to student-athletes.
"I don't mind if a student athlete wants to come in and chat or wants to come to me with a problem," he said. "I'm in a unique position, because I'm not their coach and not the AD. I've talked to people about a myriad of personal issues that aren't my job, but you do it because it's the right thing to do."
Kratochvil's affection and loyalty to Parkside is unwavering - so much so that he wouldn't do what he does anywhere else.
Kratochvil was told a few years ago by Parkside's former athletic director Dave Williams to apply for another job somewhere else "just to see if you can, to keep your skills sharp," Kratochvil said.
Kratochvil applied to Cal State-Northridge and the school asked Williams for references.
"They called me up and they were going to have me come out for an interview," Kratochvil said, "but my conscience got the best of me and I didn't do it because I wasn't going to leave.
"I bleed green. I watched the place get built and I've been to multiple games since the school started and I used to watch Parkside basketball in the early 1970s when they played in Memorial Hall.
"This is the only place I would do it."
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The Steve Kratochvil File
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Age: 50 (born Sept. 21, 1960).
Family: Parents Bill and Lois (Bill passed away in 1992 and Lois in 1999). Dad was a well-known professional boxer. Brother Bill lives in Laconia, N.H., and sister Diane Rogers lives in Las Vegas.
Occupation, how long: Sports Information Director at UW-Parkside, in his 13th year.
Hobbies/Interests: I have read dozens of books on quantum physics, biking, working out, spending time with friends. Have played league softball every year since 1979. Love the beach in the summer. Anyone who lives within two miles of my house has likely seen me out for a walk.
Racine County resident since: Birth. Grew up on the north side of Racine, lived in Burlington for 10 years and have lived on the south side of Racine for the past 12 years.
Claim to fame in athletics/sports is: When I was a student at Parkside, I hit a half-court shot during a halftime promotion and won $100.
Favorite sport to play is: Softball.
Favorite sport to watch is: Baseball.
Sporting event I'd most like to attend: I have been to the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals ... can't do much better than that.
The place I'd most like to visit: Fiji.
Choice for a dinner companion: Jesus Christ.
Person I most admire: Rocky Wirtz (majority owner and chairman of the board of the Chicago Blackhawks).
Best movies I ever saw: Naked Gun series.
Favorite TV program: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Favorite Stooge: Shemp Howard
Music I listen to: Oldies.
The last book I read was: Getting into the Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks.
My friends describe me as: Energetic and upbeat.
My first job was: A caddy at Meadowbrook Country Club.
I'd like to be remembered for: Putting smiles on people's faces.