Prior to the Mountain Home High School baseball game on Monday, the memory of a Mountain Home student athlete turned coach and educator was honored. A dedication ceremony was held at McClain Park for the memorial to Ron Czanstkowski that was recently hung at the entrance gate of the baseball and softball complex.
Ron’s brother, Tom Czanstkowski, threw out the first pitch before the game started, and he says he and his family were thrilled with how the memorial and the ceremony turned out.
Listen:
Ron Czanstkowski is remembered for his time as one of Bomber baseball program’s greatest athletes. Don Webb was his coach, and he remembers not only how good Czanstkowski was on the field, but also how much care he took of the playing surface when they played over at Pinkston Middle School.
Listen:
Czanstkowski’s talent took him to join the baseball teams at North Arkansas College in Harrison and Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. He was the conference co-MVP during his senior year as a Bearcat
Czanstkowski later began his coaching career in 1987 with Mountain Home’s American Legion junior team, currently known as MacLeod. He became an assistant coach for the Mountain Home High School baseball team under Webb in 1991, and they finished as state runners-up that year. Czanstkowski became the Bombers’ head coach following Webb’s retirement in 1995, and the program won its first state championship in 1997.
Czanstkowski has also been recognized as a leader in the classroom. He was a full-time mathematics teacher while coaching baseball, and he won the district’s Teacher of the Year award in 1997. Czanstkowski was continuing to serve in Mountain Home Public Schools as its students services director prior to his passing.
Current Mountain Home High School assistant boys’ basketball coach Brad Morris was one of the speakers during the ceremony. Morris, who has long been one of Czanstkowski’s closest friends, says he was the kind of person to go out of his way to help anyone who might need it.
Listen:
Mountain Home Athletic Director Mitch Huskey says Monday’s ceremony was a well-attended event, and he was proud to have several of the high school and American Legion coaches, past and present, at the dedication.
Listen:
Czanstkowski died Feb. 6, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI