Kallenbach stepping down as Bartlett AD

The only athletic director Bartlett High School has ever had will be stepping away from that position at the end of the school year.

Dan Kallenbach, a 1976 Larkin graduate who began his teaching and coaching career at Streamwood in 1980, announced Friday he has resigned as Bartlett's AD, effective at the end of the school year.

"It's a personal decision," Kallenbach said. "I'm 50 now and I went to the doctor and learned the stress of this job os not a good thing for me. I sat down and talked it over with my wife and kids and decided it's time to step back. Coming home at 10:15 every night and throwing a frozen pizza in the oven is not a healthy lifestyle."

Kallenbach has asked to be reassigned to the math department but said he doesn't know which school he will teach at next year. He also said he wouldn't mind coaching again, as he did last spring when he stepped in at the last minute to coach the Hawks' girls track team.

"I'd love to coach," he said. "Doing girls track last spring was a blast. Getting out there and getting to know the kids again was really enjoyable. I started teaching and coaching at Streamwood in 1980. I've got five years before I retire, so let's end it teaching and coaching."

Kallenbach was hired by the first Bartlett principal, Rick Hoy, to build the Hawks' athletic department from scratch in 1996. The school opened in the fall of 1997 and under Kallenbach's leadership has become a top contender for championships in the Upstate Eight Conference in nearly every sport. Kallenbach has seen the Hawks' girls basketball team finish second in the state in 2005, and then the football team make the Class 8A Final Four this past season.

"There's been tons of rewarding stuff and the kids and the community have been great," Kallenbach said. "It's been a blast but it's time for someone else to do it.

"From that first day in 1996 when Rick brought me on board it's been exceptionally rewarding. None of us knew what we were doing then, but through these 13 years it's been a great experience."