Building confidence, increasing teamwork and leadership skills, having fun…For Walker Froehling, participating in athletics—football, basketball, baseball and golf too—at St. James Area High School was an excellent way to spend time as a teenager.
Now, as the new activities director at Cleveland School, Froehling wants the students here to benefit from their formative years like he did.
“I just had such a great time during my high school experience and can't wait to try to help students have a similar one.”
Froehling grew up in Hanska, a town of about 385 people located between New Ulm and Madelia. He graduated from St. James Area High School, where his father was a social studies teacher and baseball coach.
From there, it was on to Bethany Lutheran College, where he played basketball and worked in the athletic department while earning a bachelor's degree in Communications Studies with an emphasis in Public Relations. Following graduation in 2018, he served as the graduate assistant Sports Information Director at Gustavus Adolphus College while completing a master’s degree in Sport Management from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He returned to Bethany in the fall of 2022 as the Sports Information Director.
His main responsibility at BLC was publicizing student-athletes by running the school website and helping manage social media. During game days, he was in charge of publicizing the event by doing live video and live statistics, and he also managed some of the game-day personnel.
“I enjoyed college athletics but wanted to get back into the high school side of things,” he said.
Froehling applied for the position at CHS because he grew up in a small community and appreciates the participation and support that goes with them.
“It's a great community with a lot of passionate students and community members. Smaller schools have a different feel about them, and I'm really excited to be able to join this community and help everyone have a positive experience. I'm very thankful that the administration and school board considered me for the job and can't wait to get going.”
Setting schedules, preparing courts and fields for practices and gamedays, finding coaches and referees, ensuring athletes meet eligibility requirements…an activities director has a diverse set of responsibilities. He said balancing the needs of students and the community and helping find everyone opportunities to participate are among the more challenging ones.
“There are so many different things that we offer at Cleveland, and I want to try to find something that suits everyone and increase participation. I want students to be able to gain the same life experiences and enjoy activities and get lifelong lessons from them in the same way that I did. Cleveland has so many opportunities in Community Education and within activities and athletics, and I'm excited to be able to help students find things they enjoy and can participate in.”
In his spare time, Froehling, along with his wife Abbey, enjoys golfing, hiking with their dog Finn and spending time with friends and family.