Lake assistant principal Luke Hickey wears many hats

        Just south of 30 years of age, Luke Hickey has the demands of being the dean of student/assistant principal at Lake High School, the boys basketball coach and the JV baseball coach.
        The Whitmer alum, who graduated from college after a successful baseball career at Bluffton University in 2017, has been the dean of students since the fall of 2022.
        As a senior, Hickey, who was a four-year starter at shortstop, hit .361 to go with two home runs and 15 doubles with an OPS of .971 to lead the Beavers.
        He talked about how he became an administrator.
        “I have a little bit of a crazy story. Last school year, in September or October of 2022, we had some things happen, and I met with our administration,” said Hickey. “They knew this was a goal of mine, and I met with (superintendent) Jim Witt and (principal) Lee Herman. I was fortunate enough to be asked to keep going, and here I am.”
        Before that, Hickey worked as an intervention specialist at the high school as well as a math teacher and an English teacher. He also taught for two years at Lima Bath High School
        Being a basketball coach certainly has its demands.
        “When it’s not basketball season, I get to school at 8 a.m.,” Hickey said. “During basketball season, we have morning workouts two to three days per week, and I get in at 6:30 a.m. It kind of depends on the season.”
        “I think it’s important to understand, I don’t know if priority is the right word, but being the assistant principal pays the bills. Those kids are going to be my focus, and that job comes first,” said Hickey, who is 29. “You’re in charge of a lot of kids at a time, and during basketball season, you have a practice plan, must be able to scout opponents, and do basketball things as well. I do enjoy the work and challenges that it brings. It certainly keeps me busy.”
        Being a former teacher helps Hickey understand the challenges that his teachers face during the day.
        “I think you understand the day-to-day (routine) that every single teacher goes through. It’s very rare for someone not to be a teacher before they move into administration. We want to support teachers, too,” he says. “Being in the classroom for five years helps, you want to understand their challenges. I think it’s important to understand and be in their shoes.”
        As a basketball coach, Hickey’s Flyers won two games in ’23 in his first season, but with the likes of Caleb Tobias and Dylan Wiley leading the way, Lake bounced back and went 16-8, won a Division III sectional title before falling to Genoa in overtime in a district semifinal. It was one of the best turnarounds in all of Ohio.
        Hickey is known to some in the area for playing on the 2012 Whitmer basketball team with Nigel Hayes that finished as the state runner-up in Division I.
        Hickey has two brothers, Noah and Sam. Noah has special needs and works at a Kroger store in Toledo. That’s part of what motivated Hickey to become an intervention specialist.
        As for Sam, he is also a graduate of Whitmer and played basketball at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. He averaged 15.6 points per game as a senior for the Panthers.
        “I know it sounds cliché, but the kids are why I do this. After learning so much, it was a blessing to have a special-needs brother — that’s where I developed my passion,” said Hickey. “It’s about relationships. Sometimes kids come back and say, ‘thank you,’ that’s why a lot of us are in this profession – society. We’re trying to teach kids the right way to do things.”
        When asked where he sees himself in the next five to 10 years, Hickey had this to say.
        “I don’t know if that’s a question I ask myself. Certainly, you have plans for your future. I try my best to live in the moment, react to things as they come,” he said.