LEXINGTON – Joe Roberts likes being the athletics director at Lexington High School.
Working close to home, bringing a passion to his position, mixing with others of his ilk who shape the future of high school athletes and athletics.
Roberts will take another step in that endeavor as he begins his first year of a two-year term on the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors. Thursday Aug. 10 is his first day in that role, when the board gathers in Columbus for its first meeting of the 2017-18 school year.
“I’m so excited,” Roberts said. “I love being involved with the Northwest District of the OHSAA. It’s one of my niches, serving the kids, serving the schools.”
The OHSAA, the governing body of high school and junior high sports in Ohio, is a voluntary, non-profit organization that governs 822 high schools and 900 middle schools, which includes approximately 400,000 student-athletes.
“We (the board of directors) are there to help the OHSAA coordinate and affiliate their events,” Roberts said.
He knows both ends of the athletics spectrum. Roberts is a 1993 graduate of Lexington High School and a 1998 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and was the head student manager under head basketball coach Bob Huggins,
Roberts then earned his master’s degree in education/sports administration at Xavier University in 2001 while continuing to work in the University of Cincinnati’s athletics department in development and promotions.
His work at the interscholastic level began in 2002 as the athletic administrator at Kings Junior High School in Kings Mills. After a year there, Joe moved to Alexandria, Ky., and spent four years as the athletic administrator for the Campbell County School District before moving to Lebanon High School as the athletic administrator from 2007-2011. After a year off to work in business, joe was hired at his alma mater, Lexington High School, in 2013 to serve as athletics and activities director.
Elected to the OHSAA’s Northwest District Athletic Board in 2014, he is that board’s coordinator for girls soccer, swimming & diving and softball. He is also an executive officer as the Northwest District representative for the Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA). This is his first term on the OHSSAA Board of Directors. Joe became a certified athletic administrator (CAA) in 2005.
Roberts is believed to be the first representative from north central Ohio in several years. Willard’s Larry Long was an OHSAA board member a number of years ago.
“Some of the things we’re looking at are extending the baseball/softball season,” Roberts said. “The way it is right now, with all the rainouts, the season is still playing while the tournament is going on. We would like to have a possible cutoff date.”
Roberts resides in Lexington with his wife Kendra, who teaches special education at Pioneer Career & Technology Center in Shelby. They have two children, daughter Sophia (11) and son Sammy (10).
