It’s the end of an era at WSJM as Phil McDonald is moving on to be the new athletic director for Lake Michigan Catholic Schools. McDonald’s been with WSJM for more than 35 years, having started as a part-timer in the 80s when he was in college. At first, he did a few overnight shifts, but became a color commentator on sports broadcasts in 1988. After a few years, he started overseeing the sports department. Has he seen local sports change much since then?
“Some schools have gotten a lot smaller than what they were when I started,” McDonald said. “A few schools are a little bit bigger than when I started, but as far as sports at the high school level, I haven’t really seen many changes.”
McDonald himself played basketball in junior high and part of high school with Lake Michigan Catholic, and shifted to track in high school and continued running track in college. He still runs recreationally today. He’s worked with hundreds of student athletes over the years, and we asked for the best part.
“Trying to make their high school sports experience feel kind of special. They enjoy what they’re doing, but then when you have the radio station covering their game, or a guy from the radio station coming to interview them about a performance or being a Student Athlete of the Week, it just makes them think, ‘Man, that was cool.'”
McDonald starts at Lake Michigan Catholic on Monday. What will be the biggest challenge?
“Keeping the kids engaged and wanting then to participate in athletics, and just kind of encouraging them by saying, ‘Hey, if you’re not that good, you don’t have to be the superstar.’ You don’t have to be the number one person on the team. Just experience it and enjoy it.”
You’ll still hear McDonald on some WSJM programs, like the Saturday morning Coaches Show. He says he’s loved every minute of being with WSJM, but a perfect opportunity just happened to come along.
