Suburban Lakes League Commissioner Jim Yeager won't be out of a second job for long.

Yeager's eight-year stint as commissioner of the SLL will come to an end in early June, but he will take over the same position with the six-team Northern Ohio League on July 1. Yeager, who was named NOL commissioner in January, takes over for Jim Oberlander.

“I love being around officials and coaches and athletes,” said Yeager, who lives in Fremont. “It's just part of my life. This was an opportunity that arose and I took a look at it. Jim was getting ready to retire and they were looking for somebody with experience, and I was fortunate enough to land this job.”

The SLL, which is dissolving following the 2010-11 school year, formed in 1972. Six of its seven current members are leaving the league to join the newly-formed Northern Buckeye Conference beginning in 2011-12.

The NBC will consist of Eastwood, Elmwood, Genoa, Lake, Otsego, Woodmore, Fostoria and Rossford. Current SLL member Gibsonburg is joining the Toledo Area Athletic Conference next year.

Yeager, 59, has been the SLL commissioner for the past eight years. He succeeded Dave Bringman, who also held the position for eight years. Jim Ewanski was the SLL's original commissioner.

“Dave resigned and they were looking for a commissioner,” Yeager recalled. “I interviewed with some of the league's administrators and I was fortunate to land the job. I had been around athletics all my life. I'm a basketball official myself. I just retired after 35 years.

“I like to be around kids and athletes, so the job intrigued me. Being a basketball official, getting assignments from commissioners and getting to know folks, the job intrigued me so I said I would throw my name in the hat and see what happens.”

The commissioner's job was a perfect fit for Yeager, a long-time high school basketball official and businessman. He owns his own manufacturing company, Fremont Flask Co.

“Paying attention to detail is one of my habits,” Yeager said. “When Dave retired, we met and he gave me all the things I needed to do. We had a very smooth transition and I basically took over where he left off. I really enjoyed working with the principals and athletic directors over the years. They've been a class group to work with. That, and the interaction with the coaches. I thought we had a great rapport. Open lines of communication were always available.”

Kevin Katafias, who has been the principal at Genoa High School for the past two years, has known Yeager for several years. Katafias is also a high school basketball official.

“Jim is a class guy and he has a great sense of humor,” Katafias said. “He's very loyal and he communicates very well. He's a very good decision-maker and he's a people person. He relates well to everybody - coaches, ADs, principals. He'll do a wonderful job in the NOL.”

Yeager's job as SLL commissioner entailed assigning officials for football and basketball games, running all-league voting for volleyball, basketball, football, baseball and softball, and media relations.

“I was responsible for releasing the all-league teams to the media,” Yeager said. “I kept the financial records with the league, attended all the principal's meetings and athletic director's meetings and provided schedules to our administrative team for their approval.”

Yeager and a close friend, Marc Schulz, often attended Friday night football games. They were usually down on the field, and they would spend time on each team's sideline.

“We would go to two games every Friday,” Yeager said. “We would catch the first half of one game and choose another one that was in close proximity. For 10 weeks, that's what I really enjoyed. We'd be up and down the sidelines on both sides of the field, and we had a great time doing that.

“Moving into winter, I couldn't get to a lot of games in basketball due to my officiating schedule. I would try to make it to at least one game on a Tuesday or Thursday night and an occasional Friday or Saturday.”

Yeager was asked to recall some of the SLL's better football and basketball teams he's seen over the past eight years.

“Obviously the last several years have been Genoa and Eastwood (in football),” he said. “The two of them seemed to dominate the league for the years I was there. In basketball, it was kind of a mixed bag. Elmwood was in there and Eastwood, obviously. Genoa won a few. Gibsonburg was at the top a few times. We had a great cross-section of teams, a very competitive league. Everybody competed week in and week out. We had a good group of coaches, athletic directors and principals to work with.”

Some would say the SLL's demise began when Lakota left the league for the Midland Athletic League three years ago. Yeager said the school gave SLL officials its two-year notice in 2006.

“When Lakota left the SLL, the dominos started to fall,” Yeager said. “That created an opening in our league in trying to find the right fit. Our folks could not come up with a solution, so they ended the league. Lakota felt that the MAL would provide them a better opportunity to compete. They were one of the smaller schools in the SLL, and moving to the MAL would put them closer in size. We tried to get a replacement for them, but we couldn't get sufficient votes for another team to come in.

“Top to bottom, I think we had first-class coaches and administrators,” he added. “My hat goes off to those men and women who really helped that league maintain its success. It was a good group to work with. I'll be missing the Friday nights patrolling the sidelines. I always looked forward to that. I'm sorry to see the league go, but life goes on.”

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