After more than four decades, Mt. Pleasant will bid farewell to Dennis Miscik, a man who has run the gamut through the years with the school, performing as a Vikings athlete, teacher, coach and finally as the district's athletic director.

Miscik, 57, will retire Wednesday, and the departure from the school will be bittersweet for the man who has devoted many years to the district and its students.

"I spent many hours here over the years, putting in 60- and 70-hour weeks," Miscik said. "My day didn't end at three. I would be here long hours with coaching long after my teaching day was done."

Miscik, a 1972 graduate of Mt. Pleasant, was a strong athlete, excelling in baseball and football.

With a scholarship to Pitt for football waiting, Miscik's career path took many turns before he ended up back at his high school alma mater as a health and physical education teacher.

"I signed a football scholarship to Pitt to play football as a quarterback," Miscik said. "Then, in June of my graduation year, I was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds to play professional baseball. So, my choice was, do I go to Pitt to play football or do I go to Cincinnati to play professionally?"

Miscik chose neither, and instead, attended Indiana (Pa.) University, where he played baseball while pursuing his degree in health and physical education.

"I played at IUP, and I was drafted my junior year by the St. Louis Cardinals, but I turned it down," Miscik said. "As it turned out, I had a really great senior year."

After leading the nation in pitching his senior year, Miscik was drafted by the Houston Astros and would spend the next seven years on minor-league teams until he retired after having elbow surgery.

The entire time that Miscik played pro ball, he worked as a substitute teacher in the Mt. Pleasant School District in the offseason.

"I racked up a lot of years in the offseason," Miscik said of his substituting, which would then lead to a permanent teaching position in the district in 1983.

"I was lucky," Miscik said, adding that he had moved to Utah and had settled into a new career when a teaching position opened in Mt. Pleasant. "My wife was homesick, so I applied for the job and came back."

Miscik began to teach, but his sports career was far from over. The baseball coach position opened the year after he returned, and he was back on the field. He also revisited his football roots.

"I spent 19 years as head baseball coach and 11 as assistant football coach," Miscik said.

When the athletic director position opened four years ago, Miscik, who had retired from coaching, decided to try yet another career path.

"I've really enjoyed being the AD," Miscik said. "I have been responsible for 16 sports, and that is all the scheduling, transportation, getting officials, security, everything."

Miscik said that he is also grateful for all of the support that he received over the years from his family.

"I really want to thank my wife, Karen, for being understanding and supportive," Miscik said. "And I want to thank my brother, Tom, for being a strong influence in my life and for teaching me how to be competitive and how to do it the right way."

And Miscik will be missed by fellow faculty at the school.

"It has been an extreme professional and personal pleasure to work alongside Dennis Miscik over the past few years," Mt. Pleasant Junior/Senior High School principal Ken Williams said. "Dennis is among the finest athletic directors with whom I have worked. His experiences in high school, college, and the professional level of athletics coupled with his classroom experience brought a very rich and unique perspective on the Mt. Pleasant Area athletic program. Our student-athletes have benefited greatly by having Dennis leading the charge. He will be missed greatly."

Miscik said the he will miss the faculty and the students, but as an avid sportsman who enjoys biking, hiking, hunting and fishing, he is now looking forward to starting yet another chapter in his life.

"Our time in life is valuable, and I want to spend the rest of my remaining time with my family and friends," Miscik said, "That is what I want to do."

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