The newly established St. John's Jesuit Czernicki Athletic Leadership Council (CALC) attended its first event, the OHSAA Foundation Student Leadership Conference, on Tuesday, October 5. Founded in 2021, and partnering with the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, the CALC will consist of 28 student-athletes representing 13 varsity sports and one club sport.
The Czernicki Athletic Leadership Council is named after Joe Czernicki, longtime SJJ coach, administrator and Athletic Director. Joe arrived at SJJ when asked to by Father Nick Gelin, then SJJ President and Father Robert McAuley, then SJJ Principal to help launch the new Jesuit boy's school, in 1965. He taught English and was the assistant principal from 1969 thru 1973. He also served as Athletic Director from 1971 - 1978. Mr. Czernicki coached basketball, track, cross country and golf and was Faculty Moderator for hockey. Joe was one of four founding members of the Northwest Hockey Conference. His teams won many awards over his coaching career, and he received numerous awards in coaching including induction into the City League Hall of Fame and the St. John's Jesuit Hall of Fame. Joe officially retired from SJJ in 1991, but volunteered his talents for many seasons after his retirement in football, golf, and track and as a tutor.
Through their attendance at the OHSAA virtual conference, members of the CALC had the opportunity to hear from Harvey Alston, Javier Sanchez, Jenny Oaks-Baker, Brian Wagner and Jason Michaels. This year's "Back to the Future" theme focused on civility, inspiring students to re-think the win-at-all-costs mentality prevalent in youth sports today. Students were provided tools to create a transformational culture, one that builds strong character and leadership traits. Additional information can be found
here, courtesy of the OHSAA.
Led by moderator
Larry McDaniel, the CALC will meet monthly to focus on leadership skills, team development, goal setting, communication, and SJJ history.
2021-22 inaugural CALC members are:
Nathan Allen '22,
Naweed Azizi '23,
Alex Britt '23,
Aiden Carroll '23,
Orion Gonzalez '23,
Tre Green '23,
CJ Hornbeak '23,
Blake Lichtenberg '23,
Declan Loisel '24,
Reece Magers '22,
Jakob Moon '22,
Sean Pollex '24,
Aiden Positano '23,
Jacob Rashid '23,
Quinn Staten '23,
Joseph Taylor '24,
Justin Teamer '22,
Vince Valentine '23,
Justy VonLehmden '23,
JP Wagner '23,
Eyan Wilson '22,
Owen Wilson '23,
EJ Zetocha '23,
Zach Zitkovic '23
Go Titans!
