Lisa Tamburrino doesn’t know what route she would’ve taken if she had never met John Kingsmill.
She’s just glad she had the opportunity to cross paths with the longtime Elmwood Park coach and teacher.
“He actually inspired me to go into the teaching profession,” Tamburrino said. “He’s very inspirational. He taught you how to bring out the best in yourself and believe in yourself and others around you. A lot of people I know appreciated that and went towards that profession because of him. He’s a great person and I’m lucky to be part of his legacy.”
Tamburrino is a 1992 Elmwood Park graduate who ran track for Kingsmill and later coached with him as an assistant. She’s now a physical education teacher at Elmwood Elementary and also coached before having children of her own.
Kingsmill recently completed his 33rd and final season as the Elmwood Park cross country coach. He also coached track and field for 34 years. He retired from teaching social studies and physical education two years ago.
“It’s been tougher than I anticipated,” Kingsmill said. “I’m not ready to mentally be done coaching and teaching. I was very fortunate. Most years I never felt like I was going to work. School was just a place I enjoyed going to. It was a guilty pleasure because I felt like I was not working.”
Kingsmill is proud of where he’s leaving his teams. Prior to his arrival, cross country was canceled two seasons in a row because of low turnout. The program was in danger of being dropped permanently, but Kingsmill was able to maintain enough runners his first season to keep it going and begin thriving.
“It was my baby,” Kingsmill said. “It became my program, so it meant quite a bit to me.
“We had so many stars, but also so many heroes who were not as talented but had a lot of success not measured by a stopwatch. I feel fortunate to be part of so many lives of good people who went on to do good things with the rest of their lives.”
One recent standout is senior Ricky Wojcik, who in the fall led the Tigers to their first team state berth since 1993. He qualified for state as an individual his junior season and was also a state qualifier in track.
“He’s very easy going,” Wojcik said. “He never really got angry and was all about helping kids improve. He didn’t care about what level you were at, he was going to train you to make you the best that you could be. I was kind of a shy person. He helped me open up and made me the runner I became.”
Kingsmill didn’t have an assistant coach for half of his coaching career in cross country, but when the program’s numbers reached the mid-50s around 1990, he found some help.
A few assistants cycled through the program before Debbie Anichini came on board as a math teacher and remained his assistant for 15 years until calling it quits this year as well.
“As the two of us aged we became known as the mom and dad of the team and once we started to become the grandparents of the team, we thought it was time to move on,” Kingsmill said.
Kingsmill is keeping busy as a personal trainer at the Bartlett Park District and is also a tutor and substitute teacher at Bartlett High School. He hasn’t ruled out coaching.
Kingsmill appreciates the many alumni who have contacted him since his decision to hang it up.
“It’s been a complete role reversal,” Kingsmill said. “When they were in school and going through ups and downs, I was there for them and was a big part of their support system. Now, when I’ve gone through some changes in my life, some of them, now as adults themselves, have become part of my support system and check in on me periodically. It’s nice.”
