Jon Leslie has worn many hats as an athlete and administrator in his lifetime.
First as a three-sport athlete at Marquette High School, to a baseball player at Concordia University Chicago [formerly Concordia University River Forest], to coaching at different levels of sports at Marquette, to six years as principal at Hartsburg-Emden High School, to his current position as assistant principal at Ottawa High School.
Beginning July 1 Leslie will become the new athletic director at Ottawa after being unanimously approved by the school board Oct. 16.
“I love doing what I’m doing right now as assistant principal and have a great team to work with every single day, but being an athletic director, especially at a school like Ottawa, has always been the hope, dream and goal,” Leslie said. “I have always valued athletics and loved coaching. I look forward to working alongside the coaches we have here. They are all professionals in every aspect of the word. We have a great kids here at Ottawa, and sports is a great part of the educational process for them. As far as athletics, we have a very supportive community, boosters and administration.”
Current AD Mike Cooper will retire at the end of this school year after 18 years at the position.
“I feel so fortunate to follow Coop,” Lelsie said. “They are huge shoes to fill, and there is no doubt about that. I’m also fortunate that I will be able to learn from him the next eight months and hopefully make the transition as smooth as possible.”
Ottawa High School Township Superintendent Michael Cushing said Leslie’s immense experience in so many coaching and administration positions over his career, as well as his love for students and athletics, made the hire a no-brainer.
“He is a natural fit.”
— Michael Cushing, Ottawa High School Superintendent on Jon Leslie becoming the school's new athletic director
“When Jon was hired as the assistant principal in the spring of 2021, with his experiences in education and knowing Mike would be retiring in a few years, we knew Jon taking over as the athletic director was a logical fit if he was interested,” Cushing said. “Jon has been a teacher, a coach, a dean of students, assistant AD, assistant principal and principal. You don’t get much more experience than that.
“Mike is the consummate professional and has set the standard for athletic directors not only locally, but across the state. I don’t think you’ll find another AD, which is a challenging and sometimes thankless job, that is more accessible, dedicated to the students or dedicated to his job more than Mike Cooper. We’ll miss him for sure, but we also know Jon is going to step in and not miss a beat.
“He is a natural fit.”