High School Sports |

Hereford athletic director Mike Kalisz retires after 31 years

Mike Kalisz officially retires as Hereford High’s athletic director on June 30 after 31 years and he admitted his final days at the school have been more emotional than he expected.

“It really has been emotional. I’ve had a lot of things going on especially the past few months, people have done things for me and I’m appreciative, but I’m humbled and it hits me every day,” said Kalisz, who accepted the AD position in May 1993 after beginning his career teaching in Baltimore County in 1988.

Jean-Paul Bibaud will take over the position from Kalisz.

Kalisz’s final few months have been filled with celebrations and recognition for the state championship teams from Hereford.

“We had a year-end athletic directors meet and greet meeting, but a celebration, and on the proclamation from Johnny [Olszewski] it said 58 state championships,” he said. “All I say every time when I talk to people is I’ve been blessed. I’ve been blessed to be given this opportunity to work in just a wonderful community with what I feel are the best coaches around.”

One of those coaches is basketball coach Jim Rhoads, who transferred to Hereford from Catonsville in 2002 and started working the Hereford Bulls Summer Basketball Camp with Kalisz.

“He started the camp in like 1996 or 97 and then I got here in 2002 and we worked together all the way up to 2019 or 20,” Rhoads said. “We had a great time working together, a lot of laughs and just a lot of fun.”

As the Hereford basketball coach, Rhoads made quite the impression on Kalisz.

“I talked about the success of our programs and you have coaches like Jim, who I feel is the best on-court basketball coach in the state of Maryland, nobody compares to him. And you have a Steve Turnbaugh, who came in and single-handedly changed the way high school football was played,” Kalisz said. “You have John Walter, who is now the football coach and who did so many things to help develop our program; and Tammie Mundie with field hockey, who also changed the way field hockey was coached; and Brad and Caitlin Duvall, they’ve won between them 12 or 13 state championships.”

Kalisz, who turned 69 on June 20, admits a special “Coach K Night” Rhoads organized at the final home basketball game was a memory he will cherish forever.

“They put together the biggest surprise and the greatest honor of my life and I had no clue and it was very emotional as everything that is going down now I get emotional about,” Kalisz said. “They named the stadium after me and gave me a framed Hereford basketball jersey of No. 1. But people have been so kind to me these past few months and I got inducted in the Hall of Fame shortly after.”

“We had a little retirement thing for him the other day, a couple of faculty members retired and I spoke about Mike and I said, ‘Not only is he the face of the athletic department, but he’s also really the face of the school,'” Rhoads said. “He’s the guy who has been here for 30 years. He has a terrific personality and everybody knows him. Everybody knows who Coach K is.”

Kalisz was in his glory during cross country season, making sure the Bull Run Invitational and state championship meet, both held at Hereford, ran smoothly.

“To me, [Bull Run] is the greatest high school event in the state of Maryland when you have 4,000 kids competing,” Kalisz said. “I’m going to still help out with that and I’ll help out with the state cross country championship there.”

Kalisz, who currently lives in Hunt Valley, has other, more important things occupying his time right now — the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials and the upcoming Paris Olympics.

His son, Chase, 30, a 2021 gold medalist in Tokyo in the 400 individual medley, qualified for Paris by finishing second in the 400 IM on June 16 at the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. Chase, who won a silver medal in Rio in 2016, also competed in the Olympic Trials in the 200 IM and 200 butterfly.

Kalisz’s busy spring prevented him from attending this year’s trials, but he has been there before with Chase and his other children, Courtney, Cassidy and Connor.

“All four kids qualified for the Olympic Trials and it’s been fun and it’s a wonderful event,” Kalisz said. “My oldest, Courtney, qualified when she was 13 years old.”

Recently married to wife, Linda, Kalisz is preparing for his future.

“Right now, I will be in the process of selling my house. I’m going to move in with my wife in Forest Hill up in Harford County and I’ll be looking to buy a beach place,” he said. “I’m going to do a lot of fly fishing and traveling. We will be going to Italy in the fall and doing things. I quite honestly have not had the opportunity to do those things.”

His legacy at Hereford will carry on throughout the school.

“There is a lot of funny things that have happened around school, but I think the one thing that sets him apart from everybody else is how he treats everybody at school whether they are an athlete, not an athlete, coach, a teacher that is not a coach,” Rhoads said. “I think everybody has a deep respect for Mike and I think because of the way Mike treated them, he treats everybody fairly, he is super, super generous, he would do anything for anybody. Anything.”

“I’m still going to be engaged with Hereford High School because it’s been my life,” Kalisz said. “If anything, I would love to be able to give back to Hereford High School.”