Van Horn's new AD happy with progress

The first fall sports season as a member of the Independence school system is under way at Van Horn High School.
And new athletic director John Ihm for the most part is encouraged by the number of athletes who have turned out for football, volleyball, boys soccer and boys and girls cross country.
Thirty-five athletes reported for football Monday.
“We anticipate the number to grow,” Ihm said. “There are some kids out of town. At Van Horn there were no expectations as to the first day. We expect a total of 45. That is a good number for us. We hope to have a junior varsity team. It will depend on the kids who stay with us.”
A total of 22 are participating in the preseason volleyball drills.
“We expect more,” Ihm said. “They are signing up every day. We hope to have a nice number of 25 to 30. We will have junior varsity and varsity teams and maybe a freshman team.”
Over the years, volleyball has been the most successful sport at the school, which opened in the mid 1950s.
As for boys soccer, the turnout of 10 has been disappointing.
“There are quite a few on vacation,” Ihm said. “The final number should be 18 to 20. We probably will not be able to field a junior varsity team. It’s looking that way.”
As for cross country, the turnout of 10 is higher than in past years.
“Three or four more have shown some interest,” Ihm said. “Our target is 15 to 16.”
With eager anticipation, the new school year opens Monday at Van Horn.
“We don’t know how many students will show up,” Ihm said. “We could have at least 500, or it could be well over that. It (enrollment) will grow every year.”
He said some students from Englewood Christian Academy, which closed in the spring, have transferred to Van Horn.
“A lot of people at Englewood Christian have been very helpful with us with handling the transition,” Ihm said. “A lot of them took part in the Extreme Makeover (weekend of July 26-27). (The district) also will get some students from St. Ann’s elementary school, which also closed this spring.”
Ihm said he looks forward to the challenges at Van Horn.
“For years I had been a high school principal (in Joplin),” he said. “It grows on you and wears on you. I also have quite a background in sports.”
But he desired to return to the Kansas City area because his son, Aaron, is the girls basketball coach at Harrisonville and a daughter, Allison, is the events coordinator for the Kansas City Leukemia/Lymphoma Society.
He applied but failed to land the vacant activities director’s job at Winnetonka High School after Mark Mundel was hired at the new Staley High School.
So he called good friend Jim Hinson, the superintendent of the Independence School District, to inquire if he knew of any athletic director job openings in the area, and Hinson told him about the position at Van Horn.
Ihm applied and was hired in February. His wife, Teresa, has been hired as a fifth grade teacher at William Southern Elementary School.
“I’m looking forward to the challenges,” Ihm said of the Van Horn job. “We’re going to take it one step as a time” as to the many improvements to be made at the school and the sports to be added.
Van Horn is no longer a member of the Interscholastic League. It will be an independent for the next two years but will play competitive schedules in 11 sports.
Although improvements are needed in the gymnasium, Ihm said all home basketball games would be played next season at Van Horn.