This school year introduces LHS to new Activities Director (AD), David Maxwell, who brings a philosophy for teaching students useful lessons through athletics.
Before the 2022-2023 school year ended, LHS found its new AD after Joey Struwe retired from athletic directing. Maxwell started as AD for LHS in July and has been developing his relationships with the department since. Maxwell’s athletic background began at the high school level where he played basketball at Parkston High School. After high school, Maxwell brought his skills to the college level where he played at USF and later spent time there as an assistant coach. His connections to the SFSD began at RHS where he coached girls basketball at the same time that current LHS Head Principal Laura Raeder was at RHS as an assistant principal. Maxwell found his fit at LHS with these previous connections, eventually leading him to the athletic program. The role of athletics is huge in building a school’s community and Maxwell plans to use his prior experience to develop LHS’s culture.

“I took this job [for] the opportunity to impact school culture,” said Maxwell. “Helping instill the values and life lessons that will serve students when they leave our doors is something that I am super passionate about.”

Maxwell has spent his time at LHS so far building relationships with the leaders that make up the activities department. For his first year, Maxwell plans to observe and try to fit in with LHS’s culture in order to see how the programs operate. LHS is a large community to meet and grow connections with. There are countless people at the school who have made their lasting mark on the school’s culture. These athletic traditions have been set into place by many previous administrators, coaches and players. Maxwell expects his first year to be one of trial and error. His approach will be getting advice from his fellow administrators and observing how LHS programs operate instead of stepping in and making big changes right away.

“I was so impressed with the coaches and directors that we have here,” said Maxwell. “We have tremendous leaders at our school. The last thing I am going to try to do is say that everything needs to change.”

Many student athletes often hear that student comes before athlete, a saying that LHS administrators push onto their students when they fall behind in class or make mistakes outside of their athletics. LHS will continue to promote success outside of the classroom and outside the walls of the school when students graduate. Athletics and activities bring adversity to students as they consume a great deal of their time outside of the classroom. Balancing education, activities and other engagements outside of school is a stressful part of being an athlete in high school but is a practice that can help students down the line. Maxwell wants the adversity that student athletes face to prepare them for life outside of high school.

“The most important skill that I want kids to have when they leave LHS is I want them to have a belief that they can do hard things,” said Maxwell.

An unrealistic expectation that many have for an AD is that they will be the one to bring in the people necessary to win state championships. However, Maxwell’s focus is not just on winning state titles but on building up students through lessons and leadership. His philosophy on high school activities is building relationships with coaches who will then build relationships with their athletes. High school activities, especially at LHS promote many lessons and build many people up into who they become as a person through the relationships that are made. Maxwell wants to help LHS coaches build up their athletes to have success when they are done at LHS, which is the core purpose of high school activities, whether students go to college for activities or not. Once students leave LHS, the lessons they have learned as an athlete will be much more valuable to them than the experience of winning a championship.

“We are gonna talk about being disciplined, being accountable, being a great teammate and giving perfect effort,” said Maxwell. “Winning is something that happens because of all those things.”

This new direction for LHS activities means combining relationships from the past in order to better our athletic future. Maxwell plans to promote hard work and determination throughout every program in the LHS activities scene. Students will be pushed to grow in their ability to adapt to adversity. Maxwell hopes to make his mark by showing every student the lessons that activities will teach them in their life beyond the walls of LHS.