Posted: Dec. 22, 2009 |(0) Comments

Greendale — Paul Krajewski cannot stay away from the game he loves.

When recently asked how many games he has been to this season, Krajewski's first away from coaching in more than three decades, the 57-year-old retired health and physical education teacher rattled off nearly a half-dozen games he had already attended and mentioned a few more he hoped to get to in upcoming weeks.

Not that anyone expected him to stay away.

Krajewski retired from Greendale toward the end of July after 30 years as head coach of the Panthers. Ryan Fiet, a Krajewski assistant for five seasons, was hired as his replacement, becoming just the fourth head coach in the program's history.

Ron Barbian, the program's second coach, hired Krajewski as a varsity assistant for the 1977-78 season. The following year, Krajewski was head coach of the junior varsity.

Basketball marriage begins

When Barbian left the program prior to the '79-80 season, he recommended that Krajewski apply for the position, and a 30-year marriage between the Panthers and one of the state's biggest and most respected basketball junkies was born.

"He's the most gracious person, winning or losing," said New Berlin Eisenhower's Dave Scheiddegger, who has coached the Lions since 1990. "He's so gracious. He's an advocate for sportsmanship. It was one of those things where I wanted to be like Paul when I grew up.

"What a great coach. When you go against Greendale, it was scary but fun. He was going to test you as a coach and test your players to see how they would think and react. I'm going to miss Paul, but I'm not going to miss getting ready for his teams. The profession lost a great guy."

Krajewski, who did not know his career record, took the Panthers to the state finals in 1995, where Greendale lost the Division 2 title game, 45-33, to Kimberly, the only state tournament appearance in school history. His teams played in the sectional finals four times and won two conference titles.

Helping out young people

But wins and losses were not why Krajewski coached.

"The opportunity to be able to work with the young men I worked with," is what he liked most, Krajewski said. "The greatest satisfaction is to see them grow as human beings and improve as basketball players. It's all about them, seriously. (Coaches) orchestrate and put together game plans, but the kids have to carry it out. That's the bottom line."

The decision to walk away was difficult for Krajewski.

"I'm an old man," he said. "You get to a certain point and you've got decisions to make. There are a number of variables you think about. You can't stay forever."

Relationships made it difficult

Making the decision even more difficult were the people Krajewski crossed paths with over the last 30-plus years.

"I was very fortunate to teach and coach at a district like Greendale for as long as I did and deal with so many excellent people," he said. "Students, faculty members, maintenance and custodial staff, support staff. I hope I'm not leaving anyone out; that's how strongly I feel about it."

Besides taking in a few basketball games, retired life has been pretty quiet for Krajewski. He has more time to read and do projects around the house, golfed more than usual this fall, and spends ample time with his wife, Maggie, who used to be Greendale's official scorer for most of the Panthers' away games while Krajewski roamed the sidelines.

"We miss it. It was a big part of her life as well," Krajewski said. "It's been an interesting change. It's different. We talk about it often. You can't walk away from something you truly love to do and say I'm not going to miss it."