The West Bend Current

The new athletic director at West Bend East High School can’t wait to meet the community.

MacKenzie Welnak, who was hired to serve as East’s athletic director this summer, is planning a Community Conversation Night at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24 in the West Library. Stakeholders, including residents, parents, athletes and coaches are invited to talk about opportunities regarding West Bend sports.

“(They) can come in and ask questions and have conversations on different growths and reflections in the athletic department,” Welnak said.

Welnak is also very interested in providing better resources for both student athletes and coaches. 

“Setting up resources for student-athletes is very important to me” Welnak said. “We want to eliminate the barriers that prevent kids from being student-athletes.”

Youth engagement is key to Welnak’s vision, too. She plans to start a program where elementary or middle schoolers could “win” a chance to start a game or wrap up with a team. The idea is to allow younger athletes a chance to get interested and excited about playing sports in high school.

“My main goal is to grow East athletics with the number of participants,” Welnak said.

Although this is Welnak’s first time being an athletic director, she was previously a teacher at Brown Deer Elementary School and Ben Franklin Elementary School in Menomonee Falls. After becoming interested in administration she attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

“When I was a teacher I never really had a say in the changes that I saw happening in my school and how those changes affect kids and how undersupported teachers were,” Welnak said. “I want to give teachers the opportunity to thrive and to feel supported.”

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Photo by Cassie Jerich, Current Staff.