OH welcomed a brand new staff member this 2024-2025 season: the new OH Athletic Director (AD) Dan Artnzen.
“I’m excited to be back in a building with students, that’s really what I look forward to,” said Artnzen.
Artnzen is not new to SD308, however; he has been involved in many jobs in the district over the past 10 years. “I oversaw OE and OHS for some time, [and] before that for about 10 years, I also taught middle school for a while and high school at Plainfield,” said Artzen.
OH Principal Chris Grays is also well acquainted with the new AD and shared, “Fun fact: Artnzen replaced me as an assistant principal at OE,” Grays said.
Arntzen is also familiar with several of the staff members at OH. According to Assistant Athletic Director Mark Johnson, “I used to be an assistant coach for varsity baseball, and [new AD] Dan [Arntzen] was an assistant coach at Plainfield North.”
Although Arntzen’s roles in SD308 have included administrative roles, he is no stranger to athletics, with years of experience in both playing and coaching. “I played some collegiate level baseball,” he said, proving his familiarity with sports and academics combined. “Coaching baseball was a great experience,” said Arntzen.
There are several important duties of both the AD and assistant AD according to Johnson who does “little things like walking around to operate scoreboards, or how to turn the lights on at the football stadium” and big things such as “planning ahead or bigger issues.” Artnzen agrees by adding that “we are setting everyone up for success when we have those things laid out.”
Grays and Johnson can both agree on what Arntzen will enjoy, and that is being part of the OH community. “Communicating and connecting with students and improving our great athletic atmosphere here at OH,” said Grays.
Artnzen is ecstatic about his new position, explaining that “having that interaction with after-school athletics, and taking what you know about a sport and sharing it with them to see them grow is a really great experience for me,” exemplifying his passion for the job.
Hello! I'm Lindsay Arand, a first year staff reporter and sports editor for the publication. I am a senior this year. At OHS I am apart of OATS, as well as track and girls soccer. I'm excited to collaborate and meet new people! You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
great work!