Lakeland Christian Academy has undergone a series of changes over the last two and a half decades, but throughout that time, one thing has stayed the same: Tim Yocum has served as the school’s athletic director.
Originally from Mishawaka and a graduate of Grace College, Yocum began his career in Binghamton New York, spending 15 years there as an athletic director as well as PE teacher from 1985 to 2000. When he found out that Lakeland Christian was going to have an opening at the same position.
“We were very happy in New York, everything was going well,” Yocum said. “But I found out through my sister-in-law that LCA was going to have that opening and I was here interviewing in February and got the job not long after.
“My wife and I had always kind of wanted to come back to the area, we love the area and we had met each other at Grace College, but we didn’t know how that was going to happen,” he added. “It kind of worked out perfectly. We get to be closer to our family now and our kids got to go to LCA, it’s worked out really well.”
Starting the job in October of 2000, it wasn’t long into his stint at Lakeland Christian that Yocum was a part of one of, if not the biggest moments in school history: the move from the school’s old campus to the current one on S 250 E. The change was not only a massive one for the everyday life of students and faculty, but for the athletic programs as well.
“Up until that time, all of our practices for sports like basketball and volleyball had to find a gym. They’d have to go to the Y[MCA], Grace College, or a local church here or there. They were all over the place,” Yocum said. “I feel like I kind of lucked out, because my first basketball season here, we had our own gym. It’s still that same gym today.”
That was far from the only change Yocum has experienced throughout his career, citing that the athletic industry as a whole has changed so much, largely due to the advancements of technology.
“When I first started doing this job back in ‘85, there was no internet to rely on. I was making calls to set up games, calling officials to make sure they’re coming to the games. Now I can text them. I can email another AD and they’ll send me their roster, and not by fax machines like the old days,” Yocum laughed. “The whole position has gotten so much better and easier with all of these developments.”
Midway through his tenure, Lakeland Christian experienced another big upgrade, this time to its competition. The school officially became a member of the IHSAA in 2012.
“What I like about being in the IHSAA is the exposure of our school and our athletes, as well as the fact that everyone is on the same page as far as rules go,” Yocum said. “Some of the old tournaments we were playing in, you didn’t always know how old someone was or if they were even passing classes or not. So to now have that consistency, it’s nice.”
Since joining the IHSAA, Lakeland Christian has won two sectional championships. The first came in 2018 and was won by the girls soccer team, while the most recent came this fall when the boys soccer team won its first in program history.
Last week, Lakeland Christian announced the Capital Campaign, which will expand its campus and put all of its students under one roof by the 2026 school year. While that is not something that directly impacts the athletic programs, Yocum believes the change will have an effect for the sports teams.
“I think that opens the door for a lot of mentorship opportunities, for the younger kids to see the older athletes and look up to them,” he said. “While the plan doesn’t include a new gymnasium, which we desperately need, hopefully we’ll be able to keep on building and expanding and a new gym will be on the horizon.”
In his free time, Yocum likes to spend his time at Grace College sporting events, as well as singing and performing in theater. He and his brother make up two members of a Southern Gospel quartet that travels around to different churches. He’ll be a performer in this year’s Christmas Show at the Wagon Wheel, “Miracle on 34th Street.” It will be the 20th production he’s been a part of at the local theater. In the past, Yocum also served as the director for a variety of plays put on at LCA as well as a soccer coach.
“They’ve treated me very well since I’ve been here,” Yocum said. “I’m happy to be a part of this family.”