‘A perfect athletic director to work for’

By Joe Scalzo

Poland High’s Myron Stallsmith is retiring after serving the school for 49 years.

POLAND — At a varsity basketball game against Beaver Local in mid-February, Poland High School held “Mitch Night” to honor a freshman named Mitch Dinopoulos, who was undergoing treatment for a serious illness.

At that same game, Bulldogs athletic director Myron Stallsmith was given a plaque recognizing his 49 years with the school.

Stallsmith accepted the plaque, then said, “This isn’t about me. This night is about Mitch.”

“It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen,” said former Poland football coach Paul Hulea, now one of the team’s assistants. “It said quite a bit about him.”

The 73-year-old Stallsmith’s retirement was effective at the end of the school year, ending a successful tenure as a coach, teacher and, for the last 46 years, athletic director.

He leaves with a terrific legacy, having overseen one of the Valley’s most successful athletic departments with humility and a strong work ethic.

“In my opinion, he was a perfect AD to work for,” said boys basketball coach Ken Grisdale, the winningest hoops coach in school history. “He made sure you had what you needed, he made sure the kids had what they needed and he let you do your job.

“If you look at the success the athletic department has had, especially in recent years, it’s a tribute to him.”

Stallsmith graduated from Goshen High (now part of West Branch) in 1954 and played second base for the Ohio University baseball team. He also played a few years of football at OU and played a lot of sandlot baseball and softball in the Youngstown area.

After graduating, he was hired as an assistant football coach at Poland in 1960 by his former high school coach, Bill Van Brocklin, who was hired by the Bulldogs in 1954.

For the next few decades, Stallsmith taught industrial arts at Poland and in 1963, was hired as athletic director.

At the time, the Bulldogs had just three sports — boys football, boys basketball and boys track — and he didn’t become a full-time AD until about 10 years ago.

Over the years, Poland’s athletic department grew along with its community, adding sports (there are now 20 boys and girls varsity sports at the school) and some of the area’s best facilities.

Over the past 10 years, the Bulldogs have won state titles in football (1999), track (2000) and girls golf (2008) and have gone to the state tournament in boys and girls basketball and softball.

Softball coach Reid Lamport was hired by Stallsmith 22 years ago — “He’s been at it longer without me than with me, so that says something right there,” Lamport said — and credits the athletic director for taking Lamport under his wing.

“He’s a quality guy who’s in it strictly for the money,” Lamport said, breaking into a huge grin. “No, no, no. He’s a quality guy who’s in it strictly for the kids.

“He puts his heart and soul into it and he still enjoys it and that’s the reason for his longevity.”

Although enrollment has doubled since Stallsmith arrived, he said the students haven’t changed.

“We had a good bunch of kids then just like we have a good bunch of kids now,” he said. “The biggest difference is probably with the parents. They’re a little more involved than they used to be. You get some good help and you get some that don’t understand the game too much, so they give you a little bit of a problem.

“But overall, the good outweighs the bad by a lot.”

The job’s headaches don’t show on his face — he’s been nicknamed the Dick Clark of athletic directors because he still looks young — and he figures he hasn’t missed a day of school in 20 years.

He credits his success to three things.

“First, you have to like what you’re doing,” he said. “Second, you have to like the people you’re working with.

“And third, you hope you don’t miss any paychecks. I’ve been in Poland for 49 years and I haven’t missed one.”

Stallsmith has always believed in supporting his coaches — one of the keys to Poland’s success is its relative lack of turnover, he said — and figures if you keep the coaches happy, the programs will benefit.

“I’m going to miss him a ton,” said Grisdale, who has led the Bulldogs to three regional titles during his 16-year tenure. “He’s not only been a great athletic director, but he’s been a father figure as well.

“He stood behind me in anything that’s ever happened.”

Although the school year ended Wednesday, Stallsmith won’t leave for a few more weeks, taking the extra time to finish some odds and ends.

He’s not sure what he’ll do yet, but it will likely involve spending more time with his wife of 51 years, Nancy, their three kids and their five grandkids.

“It’s been a good run,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like 49 years.

“It’s a good school system and we’ve always had success. I don’t see any reason why that shouldn’t continue.”

In addition to working on his golf game, Stallsmith said he’d like to stay involved with the booster club and help his successor, Brian Banfield, with the transition.

This much is certain — Banfield has big shoes to fill.

“It will be impossible to fill Stally’s shoes,” said Grisdale. “His No. 1 concern was the kids and making sure they had the chance to have a positive experience.

“I think it’s gonna take quite a few years to truly understand what we lost.”

scalzo@vindy.com