Wooster High School AD Alex Mallue to resign June 1
Wooster High’s Alex Mallue informed the district on March 17 that he plans to resign from his position as athletic director on June 1.
Alex Mallue has accomplished a great deal in his 4 1/2 years as the Wooster High School athletic director.
It also has been an extremely time-consuming period.
“I tell people my ‘on switch’ is on from about 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” Mallue said. “Even if I’m not at an event at night, my phone is on.”
As Mallue contemplated the next chapter of his life, he knew those long hours simply wouldn’t allow him to enjoy what was most important. He’s engaged to fiancee Abby Young, a first grade teacher at Cornerstone Elementary, and the couple will wed later this year.
With that in mind, Mallue informed the district on March 17 that he plans to resign from his position as athletic director on June 1. He will take a position with Employers Health in Canton, which helps provide health care and pharmacy benefits.
“It’s really nothing to do with anything that’s wrong or bad at Wooster,” the 30-year-old Mallue said. “Everything’s great right now. I think it’s actually a really attractive job to take, with all the great things we have going on.
“An athletic director job is tough as it is, but to add a new marriage and hopefully having kids in the not-so-distant future, it would certainly be a lot. When this new opportunity arose and after a lot of thought and consideration, it was really just a personal decision.”
Mallue said he’s thoroughly enjoyed his time in Wooster, and the couple plans to continue living here. The Massillon Jackson alum said he still plans to help at some Generals’ sporting events.
“When I met with our coaches, I told them, ‘The part I’m going to really miss is you and working with the kids.’ It’s the people. Luckily, in my new job, I’ll be able to do a lot of that, continuing to work with people and getting in front of clients to make sure their needs are being met.”
In overseeing Wooster’s 27 varsity teams, Mallue was practically on call for all waking hours if he wasn’t at the school or an event.
“I’m answering the phone if a coach calls or if there’s an issue that I need to inform a principal or superintendent about,” Mallue said. “There could be maintenance, grounds or custodial calls because of an issue at the school. Maybe there’s a transportation issue at an away game … ”
Mallue trailed off, knowing he could keep listing job responsibilities for 10 more minutes. He’s also been a part of some of the biggest upgrades to facilities in a four-year period in school history.
When asked to name some of the things he’s most proud of during a short but impressive tenure, Mallue pointed to three facets: facility upgrades, coaches retention and winning back-to-back Ohio Cardinal Conference All-Sports Trophies for the first time in school history (2021-22, 2022-23).
Wooster has invested several million dollars in its athletic facilities since 2021. The improvements include replacing the field turf at Follis Field and a new scoreboard, major upgrades to Ellen Shapiro Natatorium/Chris Matthew Aquatic Center including a new HVAC system, and a baseball/softball turf and renovation project that will be complete in April.
“A lot of that was private donations, but a lot of it was the school district investing too,” Mallue said.
Many people have been asking when the baseball/softball turf fields will be playable.
Mallue said the project was delayed by a permit issue in the fall and snow-covered grounds for most of the winter, but the home opener for both programs is scheduled for April 19.
The baseball team will play Berea Midpark at noon while the softball team will take on Jackson in a doubleheader at 11 a.m.
“We’re going to recognize our big donors and turf committee on the field with some plaques and try to get a couple of food trucks there,” Mallue said. “We may have some games out there before that date, and if that happens, then great. But that’s our big day we’re planning on.”
Mallue said it seems like coaches in this era last about four years in the same job, but he thanked longtime coaches such as Chris Matthew (swimming), Jen Snowbarger (volleyball), and track coaches Doug Bennett and Chris Mascotti-Rasor for staying for decades. Baseball coach Steve Young also has become a mainstay with a top-notch program.
“It shows the ability as a district to retain those coaches,” Mallue said, “and those coaches’ ability to continue to find the love and the passion to coach across many, many years.”
Football coach search
Coach Austin Holter made headlines by announcing his resignation last week. After four years at the helm of the football program, Holter announced he was moving across town to lead The College of Wooster football team.
Mallue’s last big job at Wooster will be as a member of the search team that picks the new football coach. The job was posted March 14, a search committee was being formed, and Mallue received about eight formal applications and five more serious inquiries within the first four days. The deadline for applications is March 21.
Wooster has its spring break the week of March 24. The plan is to have first-round interviews the week of March 31 and second-round interviews the week of April 7.
“If it all lines up, we want to make our recommendation to the board for its April 15 meeting,” Mallue said. “If we don’t have a coach by then, we would just have a special board meeting after.
“I’m really pleased with our applicants so far for our head football coaching position. Even trying to be as unbiased as possible, I think it’s a very attractive position.”