Like a freshman, Tim Leeseberg is eager for his first day at a new school.
A 12-year veteran of the Tampa Bay-area school system, Leeseberg was named Tuesday, July 28, successor to Plant City High School’s departing assistant principal of administration and athletic director Traci Durrance. It will be Leeseberg’s first time in the role of athletic director, after previously serving as an administrator at Armwood and Bloomingdale High schools for the past seven years. He’s been at PCHS since Thursday, July 30, setting up his office and becoming familiar with his new coworkers.
“I’ve got a lot to learn, still,” Leeseberg says. “This is a big job, but the coaches that I’ve already met with seem with it and on top of everything. We’re just making sure we do right by the students.”
BACKGROUND
A Michigan native, Leeseberg graduated in 1999 from Central Michigan University, where he studied science and geography. He was offered a football scholarship by the school but instead chose to focus on his studies.
He moved to Florida in 2003, taking a teaching job at Stewart Middle School and steadily working his way up. While teaching at Stuart, he coached several of the school’s sports — basketball, soccer, flag football and track — and also coached defensive ends and outside linebackers at neighboring Blake High School.
After several years at Stuart, Leeseberg took an administration job at Armwood High School and spent a year and one half in Seffner. He then went to Bloomingdale High School, where he spent the last five and one half years as an AP1, dealing with student affairs, discipline, attendance and buses.
But Leeseberg knew all along that he wanted to be a high school’s athletic director.
“It’s my passion for sports, and education,” he says. “I think that there’s just an integral part to be involved in athletics, and the success of students academically. What they build in sports as team members, and as individuals learning character from their teammates and coaches, it was just something that I learned growing up. I knew that I wanted to push toward this as I got into administration.”
NEW JOB, NEW SCHOOL
Initially, Leeseberg had heard that PCHS would be a much different experience than his time in the City of Tampa, or even at Bloomingdale. The small-town feel at the school appealed to him, and his interview confirmed what he’d heard about PCHS.
“It was the family atmosphere that you get out here,” he says. “I’ve been to different schools, but when I walked through the door here, to interview for this job, everybody was just so friendly and wanted to carry on a conversation with you … When I left the interview, it just lit that fire even more. It was exciting to know that I could potentially end up working here, with these people.”
Leeseberg met with coaches and some athletes on Monday, Aug. 3, and has so far liked what he’s seen. One of his immediate goals is to assess the individual state of each team and, if need be, formulate plans for improvement as soon as possible. Over time, Leeseberg hopes to take PCHS to the next level.
“The first six months, first year, will be learning what we have,” Leeseberg says. “Then trying to build this into one of the powerhouses in the area. The different organizations I talked to (Monday), all of the students that I’ve interacted with, everybody’s seemed to have a pretty positive attitude. I just want that to boil over to all of the students.”
He is also concerned with the students’ academic performances and believes that that is the foundation for one day achieving all of the school’s goals.
“I come in not knowing a lot about the different sports teams at this school, but I care about winning, and that’s what I’m going to push the coaches toward,” he says. “That starts with winning students, and they’ve got to be successful in the classroom. That’s got to boil over to them on the fields.”
Leeseberg may be a little nervous for that first day of school, as anyone in a new situation like this would be, but he’s certain that Plant City High has what it takes to become that powerhouse he hopes to help build — even with no prior experience as an athletic director.
“I’m going to be put to the test, but I’m confident that I can do this,” Leeseberg says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.