Walsh started at the school in 1985 and retires after more than three decades of service to the Lenape family.
“No regrets.”
That’s what former Lenape High School athletic director Tim Walsh said when looking back on his 31-year career at Lenape.
Walsh’s last day with the school was Jan. 31, after a career that started in 1985 and spanned more than three decades of service to the Lenape family.
Despite his love for the job, Walsh said he felt now was the right time to step down to spend more time with his family.
“My family has kind of always taken a backseat and let me do the things I’ve done for Lenape, so it’s time to step away spend more time with my wife and kids,” Walsh said.
Although Walsh started at Lenape as a math teacher, he also quickly found himself involved with sports at the school. He first served as an assistant coach for boys basketball until the late 1980s, when Walsh then took over as head coach through 1996.
“I love sports, and as much as I love the classroom and teaching, I also enjoy seeing the kids in different athletics and clubs and extracurricular activities involved with the school,” Walsh said. “I always enjoyed seeing them excel in different areas.”
From there, Walsh describes becoming interested in the administration side of the school’s athletics, eventually serving as equipment manager.
In 2003, Walsh moved up to assistant athletic director, where he served for five years until becoming athletic director in 2008.
“Once I started doing the equipment and working with so many different coaches, it was just something that sparked my interested, and I figured it would be a great way to be involved in all sports instead of just one,” Walsh said.
When asked what he remembers most about his time at Lenape, Walsh didn’t mention a legendary come-from-behind victory or a winning sports season. Instead, he described the overall culture at the school of always doing what’s best for the students.
Although principals, superintendents and members of the administration have come and gone, Walsh said the mission always remained the same.
“I’m just so proud of the way we continued to follow that motto of always putting kids first,” Walsh said.
Walsh also offered his thanks to the Lenape community for their support over the years, and he said he still plans to pop up at Lenape games from time to time to see the coaches and friends he’s made over the years.
Even on his final day, the job didn’t end at 3 p.m. for Walsh, and he could be seen at that night’s boys basketball game against rival Shawnee High School.
Similar to when he first started as assistant coach all those years ago, Walsh was there to watch Lenape’s boys give it their all out on the court.
And, almost as if it were a parting gift to Walsh, Lenape beat Shawnee, 65–61.
“What better way for me to walk out of the building than with a win against our district rivals,” Walsh said.
