There are many new faces at IHS this year. One of those faces is Mr. Danny Zillich, our new Athletic Director.
Zillich attended Strongsville High School. While in high school, he ran track, was in the marching band playing the trombone, competed for two years on the debate team, and was a member of the National Honor Society.
After high school, Zillich attended the University of Dayton, then went to Ohio Dominican for his Master’s of Business Administration, and then finally acquired his administrative license at the University of Cincinnati.
After college, he taught at Olmsted Falls High School. He then became an Athletic Director at Oberlin High School last year before making his way to Independence.
Comparing Independence to Oberlin and Olmsted Falls, he said, “Independence, compared to Olmsted Falls, it’s smaller, right? So that was one of the things that was interesting for me. But I like it a lot because I get to know the students and the staff really quickly.”
Zillich knew early on that he wanted to teach. “I wanted to be a teacher, liked the environment, liked the idea of coaching, and then I think my senior year I settled on being becoming a math teacher,” he explained.
Zillich and his wife are expecting a baby girl in October. He also has two golden doodles, Daphne and Sona. Outside of school, he and his wife like to travel. They’ve been to a handful of countries in Europe and Central America, and are going to Mexico City in the spring for a wedding.
They also love going out to eat. He joked, “we look at our budget of how much money we spend going to some nice restaurants and stuff like that.” Zillich’s biggest pet peeve is liars. “I don’t like liars, and it’s one thing. Like, we all make mistakes, right? And so I think it says a lot about a person when they just own up to a mistake,” he explained.
Zillich has some advice for students. “Be involved in recognizing that you have four years here, right? It’s okay to try different things throughout your time here,” he said.
Zillich also said that supporting your classmates is also really important because you probably won’t have an opportunity to after high school.
Best wishes to Zillich during his first year at IHS!
