A faster-paced, Metro Area-style existence may not have suited Derrick Martin personally.
But with preparations for the 2017-18 scholastic year at Bayfield High School moving "110 miles an hour," according to the new athletics director (and assistant principal), such a life had more or less readied him professionally to step into his new role inside old digs.
Situated for comfortable use by an upright operator, his office computers could indicate as much.
"I get bored easy," Martin joked Monday morning. "And 'bored' is a choice; you choose to be bored or fill your time with other things that are more creative, more constructive. I prefer '110 miles an hour' because that just keeps me on my toes! I think complacency can sneak in if you've got too much free time."
"I taught here for seven years (2006-13), and... I just wanted to come back home. I got tired of living up in the Front Range, tired of all the traffic, people, congestion," he said. "This position opened up and I thought, 'You know what? I think it's time to go back.' So I went for it, and it all worked out."
Ready to channel some of the energy gained living and dying with his beloved Chicago Cubs into BHS' extracurricular realm, the South Dakota native ("I've lost the accent," he quipped) taught government, world history, world geography and English classes in Wolverine Country before obtaining a principal's license.
Most recently, he'd worked the past four years as a principal in the Loveland-based Thompson School District-including Turner Middle School in Berthoud-after leaving the Sargent School District north of Monte Vista, and Martin said his current transition into a different administrative-level gig has gone relatively smoothly.
"Luckily Mr. Hanhardt was able to get me in here early, get settled," he said, of BHS principal Leon Hanhardt. "And I was at the CHSAA conference last week, which was helpful-A.D.'s a whole different ballgame, no pun intended, compared to being a principal! It's a lot of managing deadlines, timelines, this and that, so...I'm getting the hang of it."
"Because I've been here, knew the community, knew the Bayfield district culture, it's why I wanted to come back. This community is very supportive of its schools and its kids, of its teachers. Coming back here would be a great thing not just because of athletics and activities, but academics as well. That was a huge reason."
And like predecessor Rob Dean, Martin re-stressed the importance of achieving such all-around success.
"I don't just mean the high school; I mean down at the middle school, elementary school, you know?" he said.
"What I'd like to do with my coaches is sit down with them and say, 'What's our mission as far as a K-through-12 system?' Develop that common language, which leads to a common culture - so kids in first grade, by the time they get into the high school they're in that culture, where it needs to be, with activities and athletics."
"With coaches, I'm looking for people who aren't all about Xs and Os, winning ballgames. That's a great goal to have, but goals are more of a beginning-and-end kind of thing; I'm looking for purpose," Martin continued. "And if it's not about kids, and making better young men and women, I'm not sure Bayfield's the place for you."
"With each individual sport, activity...when people come to the school, see those statements on the wall - 'BHS Football,' 'BHS Band,' 'BHS Knowledge Bowl,' whatever it is - they understand that for Bayfield it's more than just winning first-place trophies."
"We care about the mission of a kid five years from now-in college or wherever they are in a career-and if they come back and say, 'Because of you as a coach, I'm a better person.' That's what I think we should be focusing on, and I think we are; it's just trying to formalize it."
Already familiar with the facilities as well as members of the faculty (he'd was a student-teacher in the classroom under current boys' basketball head coach Jeff Lehnus), Martin noted an eagerness to next reacquaint himself with the students and be as involved an AD as possible.
"This 'admin' position, I miss being around the kids as much as I used to be," he stated, referring to not only his present billing, but also his past in Colorado's north. "So expect me to be in the hallways a lot, classrooms a lot, because the kids, that's why I do it. They're first, foremost, paramount."
"I'm sure there's going to be some bumps along the way, but I'm looking forward to it."
DID YOU KNOW: As a kicker at Yankton (S.D.) High, Martin was named All-Class AA by the South Dakota Football Coaches Association following his final prep season in 1990, and was originally signed by that state's Augustana College before graduating in 1991.
Though a hip injury prematurely ended his career, he stuck with the school and earned a B.A. in government-international affairs in 1995.
As the story goes, another prospective Viking was on site in Sioux Falls when Martin initially showed his talent during the recruiting process. Rapid City Central standout Adam Vinatieri, who was born in Yankton, would play instead at South Dakota State and will enter the 2017 NFL season as the league's oldest player (44).
Currently with the Indianapolis Colts, Vinatieri-the SDFBCA's All-AA kicker in 1989 and punter in '90-trails the great Morten Andersen by 35 field goals and 166 total points in looking to become the league's all-time leader in both categories.
