Jim Deeken is in his third year as director of the City of California Recreation Program. In this position, he oversees a program which includes basketball, volleyball, flag football, baseball, softball, T-ball, soccer, golf and supervision of the municipal swimming pool.
If this sounds like it involves a lot of work, Deeken would agree.
With all that is involved with the pool itself, plus the need to make certain trained staff is on hand any time the pool is in use, he commented the pool takes about a third of the time.
A graduate of Helias High School, Deeken always had an interest in sports. In high school, he played basketball and golf. Even now, he said his favorite sport remains basketball.
After high school, he went on to college at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. He did not play sports while in college, being too busy studying secondary education, history and psychology for his degree in social studies.
Deeken's first teaching job was at California High School. In addition to classroom teaching, he took on sports, as assistant coach of football, basketball and track. After a couple of years, he moved on to Richmond, where he was the head basketball coach in addition to classroom teaching. He returned to California, where he taught for seven years and coached basketball. Then, after completing his administrator's certification, Deeken took the position of California High School assistant principal and athletic director. He held that position for four years.
He moved on to Smith-Cotton High School for a year, where he served as assistant principal. Jamestown School was next, and also last, as he was superintendent for 13 years before retiring from education.
During this time period, Deeken married a California native, Mary Beth Hert. Not so surprising, she was also active in sports, playing volleyball, basketball and track. They have three daughters - Caitlin, Spenser and Sydney - and one son, Ross.
The sports interests continue in the children. Caitlin went to Bradley University, Peoria, ill., on a golf scholarship. While Spenser did not play any college sports, she is now an athletic trainer for Capital Region Medical Center. Sydney went to the University of Missouri at Columbia on a volleyball scholarship. Son Ross is the youngest; he is a freshman at California High School and plays basketball.
Some might think that the Deekens pushed the children into sports, but Deeken said that was not the case at all.
"Sports have been a constant in the family by availability," he said. They were always active in sports and always sought to accommodate their children's sports interests.
For several years, Deeken's summer was largely occupied by his coaching of Missouri Rage, a traveling girls basketball club which played all over the Midwest. His daughters played on the team, but now all of them are out of the team. Deeken has retired from coaching the team, but the family is not out of it - daughter Spenser is coaching for the summer.
So the sports interest has gone on to the children and next will be the grandchildren. While Deeken will probably not coach grandchildren, he will likely do his best to attend their games.
Meanwhile, it seems almost natural that he has taken on the task of director of the city recreation program.