photo by: Contributed

Jason Schroeder

For the last few years, Jason Schroeder has been a de facto member of the Free State community, living in the area around the school and attending sporting events with his family.

Now it’s official, as Schroeder became the Free State athletic director in June. Although this is his first job within the district, Schroeder has been a longtime resident of Lawrence, which is something that he believes will help him in this job.

“This is where my wife and I feel comfortable in Lawrence, we wanted to raise our kids in Lawrence,” Schroeder said. “We love Lawrence, we love the area, we love what Lawrence stands for. We’ve been going to Free State games since 2017.”

Schroeder lived in Lawrence while working at McLouth, where he started his coaching career, and later at Atchison, where he served as athletic director before taking the job at Free State. He moved away from Lawrence for an administration job at Holton but moved back in 2017.

So when the position for athletic director opened up at Free State, it was a natural fit for Schroeder and his family.

This will be Schroeder’s first time doing the job at a 6A school, but his time spent at multiple 3A schools and his knowledge of the school will make it a smooth transition.

“Everything here is definitely at a larger scale,” Schroeder said. “The facilities are nicer. From what I can tell, the expectations are a little higher, but for the most part, everything is similar.

“The nice thing about Free State is we have very experienced administrators to help me out, and we have very experienced head coaches who have been here for a long time. They have been very beneficial and helpful to me.”

Schroeder started as a physical education teacher and basketball coach at McLouth before becoming the athletic director there. On top of his love for athletics, Schroeder enjoys the administrative side of things, and “putting the pieces together” to find coaches, build schedules and work on larger school projects.

For the first few months on the job, Schroeder has been building relationships with the coaches, helping fill out coaching staffs and getting everything ready for the fall sports season. Soon, Schroeder will be the administrator tasked with hosting sporting events from September through May.

“When we’re in the fall, we have to do a good job of looking ahead and getting ready for the winter,” Schroeder said. “We have to always be looking ahead and be organized to make sure those coaches and those student-athletes have everything they need to be successful.”

Leading the athletic department means being someone who sets standards and expectations for the school. For Schroeder, that means working hard to help the coaches so they can dedicate their time to their respective teams.

“If I want someone to work hard and put a lot of effort into something, I try to do the same thing,” Schroeder said. “For coaches, I want to find out how things run with your program and figure out how I can help you.”

While there’s a lot to attend to, Schroeder is excited to begin the fall sports season.

“I know there’s probably something I didn’t get ready that I’ll have to hurry and get ready (by the start of the school year), but I’m excited to get it started instead of hanging out here in an empty building,” Schroeder said.