Mike Sorrells ’65 earned a business degree and expected to go to work using it. Although he had played football at Austin College and had minored in physical education, coaching was not the original plan. But, plans change.
“I’ve known people who have said they wanted to be a coach for as long as they can remember,” he said. “I’m not one of them. I think it just evolved as I realized I really liked sports, especially football, and thought it might be a fun way to make a living,” he said.
For 33 years, he made a living and a difference in the lives of athletes. It started with a homecoming of sorts when Mike’s former Highland Park High School football coach offered him a job right out of college. He took that offer, and the next year, Mike got an extra $500 stipend to coach the swim team, too—and $500 went a long way in 1966 so he thought it was worthwhile. By his retirement in 2002, Mike had definitely gone the distance in the Highland Park pool, eventually devoting his coaching solely to swimming.
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