World of Impact
This is the first in a series of five articles profiling the Mars Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012. FORWARD TWP — At one time, Kent Shoemaker was an outsider to the Mars Area School District.That was many years ago.The longtime coach and public address announcer will be one of five people inducted into the Mars Sports Hall of Fame Sept. 7.“I see the people who are already in (the hall of fame) and think about everything they have contributed to the school district,” Shoemaker said. “To be included in that, it’s beyond anything I ever imagined. It’s an honor.”Shoemaker was a member of the track and cross-country teams before graduating from Highlands High School in 1969.He received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Edinboro State College in 1972 and came to Butler County the same year, taking a teaching position at Mars.By the time he retired from teaching in 2007, Shoemaker had left his mark on many sports within the school district.He spent time as the head coach of the varsity and junior high girls basketball programs and the ninth-grade and junior high boys basketball teams. He also was the first head coach of Mars’ junior high boys and girls track and field teams in the early 1990s.He contributed as an assistant coach in varsity football, boys and girls tennis and girls golf.Through the years, Shoemaker was able to work with many athletes and coaches.“I enjoyed bringing a group of kids together and molding them into a team,” he said. “There were years when we had a lot of talent and others that were more challenging.”Shoemaker added another facet to his involvement at Mars in the 1980s.“By 1984, my wife (Josie) and I had a family and I was coaching so much,” he said. “I knew I had to give something up and I decided it should be football. Terry Dillner was the head coach at the time and he asked if I would announce the games. That’s how I got involved.”Those first few years behind the microphone came when the Planets’ football team was playing home games at Mars Boro Field.“It was primitive compared to what we have today,” he said. “Every once in a while, the lights in the press box would go off and somebody would say, ‘Well, somebody just threw a pizza in the oven.’”Like his coaching duties, Shoemaker’s announcing blossomed into much more than just one sport. To this day, he still announces track and field and basketball games, along with action on the gridiron.It is at football games where his voice has left the biggest impression.“Football is where you get the most interaction with the fans,” he said. “In basketball, you have to be more reserved.”Current Mars head football coach Scott Heinauer anointed Shoemaker with a nickname over 20 years ago.“At the time, I didn’t know Scott very well, but he came up to me one day and said, ‘There he is, The Voice of the Planets.’“It stuck,” added Shoemaker. “There are parents and former players who know me as ‘The Voice of the Planets.’ It makes you feel like part of the community. How could you not like that?”Kent and Josie Shoemaker have two grown daughters, Fawn and Amber, both graduates of Seneca Valley. Growing up, both were involved in cheerleading, dance and gymnastics.“With everything I had going on, I tried to get to their events as much as I could,” said Shoemaker. “They were very understanding. It helps to have a tolerant wife and I certainly have one.”As for the announcing, Shoemaker has no plans of giving it up any time soon.“I’ll do it as long as people want me there,” he said. “It’s been a real pleasure to work with the parents, athletes and coaches over the years.”Note: The Mars Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 will be honored with a dinner and ceremony at Mars Middle School Sept. 7 prior to the Planets’ home football game against Derry. A $20 ticket buys one admission to both the hall of fame dinner and football game. If interested, call Tim Tyler at 724-283-0944.
