Incoming York County athletic director living out dream in his adopted hometown

Matt Allibone, York Daily Record
·4 min read

When he first applied to be Red Lion's athletic director more than 20 years ago, Kyle Masser realized he wasn't ready.

He's glad he didn't get the job then. He's glad he remained a teacher at the school while helping out with athletics on the side.

Now he's glad to finally have his "dream" job.

A longtime special education teacher and assistant athletic director at Red Lion, Masser was officially approved as the school's next athletic director in December. He'll take over for Arnie Fritzius, who is retiring next week after 13 years at the school.

Masser will officially start his new position Jan. 11 but has been taking on more responsibility during the transition since December.

"I've been able to sit back and learn," Masser said. "This is something I always wanted to do, and I put the time in. There were opportunities to go other places, but I chose to stay at Red Lion.

"This is where I've always wanted to be."

Red Lion incoming athletic director Kyle Masser has been a teacher at the school since 1999.
Red Lion incoming athletic director Kyle Masser has been a teacher at the school since 1999.

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In fact, Red Lion is the only place the 45-year-old Masser has been professionally. A graduate of Line Mountain High School in Northumberland County, Masser played football for Bloomsburg University and then was hired as a special education teacher at Red Lion in 1999.

He also served as an assistant football and baseball coach and started helping out longtime Red Lion athletic director Jan Hall with department duties. While he didn't get the AD job when Hall retired in 2002, he remained the assistant under Katy Grenewalt and then Fritzius while balancing his teaching duties.

Masser doesn't currently coach any sports but was the varsity wide receivers coach at various points over the past two decades under Pat Conrad and current football coach Jesse Shay.

New Red Lion athletic director Kyle Masser has two daughters in the school district, including Grace (pictured), who is a standout junior for the Lions.
New Red Lion athletic director Kyle Masser has two daughters in the school district, including Grace (pictured), who is a standout junior for the Lions.

He joked that he's spent more time at the school than at his house, but he does have a true family environment at Red Lion. His wife, Angela, is also a longtime Red Lion teacher. His oldest daughter, Grace, is a standout junior for the Lions varsity basketball team.

"Red Lion is a lot like where I came from. A rural community with hard-working people," Masser said. "It just resonated with me. Everyone here has always been loyal to me. The opportunity has risen at times to go back home but Red Lion has become just as much if not more of my home."

He'll now be taking over for one of the elder statesmen of the YAIAA and District 3. Fritzius, who did not respond to an interview request for this story, also served as the athletic director at Northeastern High School and the West Shore School District during his long career. He's currently the District 3 golf chairman.

Red Lion hosted a number of large events, including the YAIAA boys' basketball semifinals and two NCAA Division I wrestling matches, during Fritzius' tenure at the school.

"I learned how to be flexible," Masser said of the lessons he learned from Fritzius. "And how to delegate things and lean on other people. He was very good at guiding the people beneath him and setting expectations for the department."

Arnie Fritzius spent the last 13 years as Red Lion's athletic director.
Arnie Fritzius spent the last 13 years as Red Lion's athletic director.

Having served as an assistant AD for over 20 years, Masser has plenty of experience running athletic events. Still, he said he's already learned a few things from "inputting computer stuff" to "taking calls on something that went wrong." He said he's sad to be leaving his teaching job but excited to focus on one role in the coming weeks.

Masser said his main goals for the department are to increase community service opportunities for student-athletes and to boost overall participation numbers, which he said have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. He wants all of the school's student-athletes to experience the family atmosphere he feels at the school.

"It didn't take me long to realize that any success my kids have is more important than any success I have," said Masser, who also has a daughter, Lucy, in eighth grade. "So I've learned to build relationships with our coaches and help them when I need to. And to do the same with our students and make sure everything is good with them and they are ready for the next steps in life."

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Red Lion High School hires Kyle Masser to as new athletic director