Goetz to step down as HTC AD

FORT MADISON – The HTC athletic board will have its hands full this spring. The board accepted head girls basketball coach Tony Johnson's resignation this week, and will now have to fill another set of big shoes in Athletic Director John Goetz who will be retiring at the end of the summer sport season.
Goetz announced Monday that he will be calling it quits as the school’s athletic director after 18 years with the school system..
"I just talked with my wife and daughter this year and we decided its time. Now we can get to watch our daughter coach more," he said.
"I’ve had so many great memories and will cherish everyone of them.  The student athletes, coaches and administration has been wonderful and very supportive.  I haven’t decided if I will continue to teach, I’m getting a little old."
John ,and his wife Kim’s daughter Jennifer is head coach at Pleasant Valley and has two state titles under her belt, the first at Davenport Assumption in her first year as head coach.
Goetz has been in education and athletics for more than four decades including stints at Marquette, Keokuk Cardinal Stritch and Holy Trinity Catholic. He started in 1979 coaching and teaching at Marquette until leaving for Stritch where he stayed until 2005.
He said the decision is completely a personal one and he wants to see how the spring plays out before he makes a decision on whether to continue teaching. He teaches junior high and high school mathematics.
The 67-year-old said the HTC system is starting to see bigger class sizes which has been a problem with athletics in the past few years prompting sharing programs with other area schools, predominantly Fort Madison.
“(Numbers) has nothing to do with it. We’ve got some really good classes coming up in 7th-9th grades. I think you’re going to see us try to get some our programming back,” he said.
“But our kids do well when we co-op with Fort Madison and they get to show off their talents over there.”
He said he’ll miss working with the students and staff of HTC, the media, and area schools.