Elyria Catholic AD is leaving for Beaumont

Panthers also looking for a boys soccer coach

Elyria Catholic athletic director Tim Ertle is stepping down from the position to take the same job at Beaumont. Also, T.J. Murray is leaving his post as hockey coach at North Olmsted.

Elyria Catholic Athletic Director Tim Ertle announced on May 1 he’s stepping down after accepting the same position at Beaumont School. Ertle will begin at Beaumont on July 1.

“It was a very fast process,” Ertle said during a phone interview. “I was not looking to leave Elyria Catholic, but Beaumont sought me out. And I met with their administration informally. We got to talking and it turned out to be a really great opportunity, and one that I decided to pursue.”

Ertle also announced that boys soccer coach Eric Kisela stepped down from his position to pursue his teaching license. There’s also a vacancy for the head wrestling coach after Vince Curiale stepped down a few weeks ago.

But having said that, Ertle added the athletic program is in good shape for his successor.

“That’s part of what made the decision so hard,” he said. “We have a number of great programs, and I have a ton of respect for the men and women who lead our programs. Our coaches do an outstanding job with the kids and I have really gotten close with the kids. It made it tough to leave.”

Elyria Catholic principle Suzanne Lester issued a statement via email on Ertle’s departure.

“Tim’s commitment to Catholic education is evidenced by the dedication and passion he has shown to Elyria Catholic High School for the past two years,” Lester said. “As the athletic director, Tim has worked tirelessly for EC Athletics and the school’s student-athletes. In a short period of time, Tim became part of the EC family. His presence will certainly be missed.”

Ertle was hired at Elyria Catholic in July 2015. He said there are a few things he’s most proud of accomplishing during his short tenure.

“I think along with the administration, we brought back the Division I district basketball tournaments to Elyria Catholic,” he said. “And that was an opportunity for us to showcase our outstanding facility. I had a lot of fun working with dozens of people and making surely those ran smoothly. And then I’m also very proud of the way we amped up our social media and our online presence. I think we tried to cover the studentathletes and give them a lot of publicity. They work hard, so we tried to give them some ink to honor their accomplishments.”

• Kisela is stepping down so he can teach during the spring semester of next year. It will require taking prerequisite classes that will occupy his evenings. Ertle plans to fill the position fairly soon.

“I want to move quickly,” he said. “We want to get everything in order and hopefully the new coach can take part in the summer camp scheduled for mid-June. You want the student-athletes to meet their coach so they can do their summer planning together. Aug. 1 will be here before we know it.”

Ertle expects to fill the wrestling coaching vacancy this week, but said nothing is official. As he leaves Elyria Catholic, he hopes the work he put in can carry over to the next athletic director.

“I’m leaving on fantastic terms,” Ertle said. “I have great appreciation for the Elyria Catholic administration. They were very supportive in my two years and I think how we’re doing it this way ... I’ll be able to help whoever succeeds me and show them the ropes. In a lot of ways, how things go next year reflects the work that we’ve done this whole year.”