Manchester High School alumni update: Mike Ahrens, Class of 1969

Photo of Mike and Kim Ahrens, courtesy Mike Ahrens’ Facebook page.

submitted by Phyllis Heinrich on behalf of the MHS Alumni Association

The Manchester Mirror has been very cooperative in publishing articles about Manchester graduates who have made their mark on the world. Once again, as we have done in the past, the Alumni Association would like to recognize a former graduate who has credited his years at Manchester Community Schools as being the foundation of who they are today.

There are many members of the Class of 1969 that could be recognized, but at this time we would like to honor a man who has gone on to influence many young men and women in the world of education and sports–Mike Ahrens.

The oldest son of Dallas and Ruth Ahrens, Mike began attending Manchester Schools during junior high and stayed until graduation. He credits his years at Manchester as a student and athlete in giving him the foundation for his future. Mike looked up to several teachers and coaches who inspired him to pursue and develop a career as an educator/coach. There were several teachers that stood out for him: Mr. Maynard Blossom, Mr. John Korican, and Mr. Rob Imerson. They made learning interesting and fun every day. As far as coaches, Mike credits Mr. Cal Poppink, Mr. Gary Schick, and Ron McNally as the ones who taught him many of the life skills that carried over into his coaching career.

In his senior year of high school, Mike developed a plan to pursue a college degree. In order to finance his education, he took a job as a janitor for the Manchester Schools. This afforded him the time and flexibility to attend Washtenaw Community College and later Eastern Michigan University, from which he graduated from in 1974 with a degree in secondary education. This was the beginning of a very successful career in coaching basketball and teaching.

Teaching opportunities were not plentiful in the mid to late 70s, but Mike was hired as a first year teacher at Onaway Area Schools and head basketball coach. On many levels this was a great job and it is where he met his future wife, Kim Ball. This was the first of many stepping stones that Mike pursued in his coaching career. This career spanned from coaching junior high basketball all the way through semi-professional; a career that has lasted over 40 years and has gained the respect of many athletes and coaches such as Jim Sleeper–retired Portland Trailblazer Assistant Coach and Buck Riley, a Hall of Fame coach from Adrian College.

Former athletes such as Jared Bledsoe, an IBL All Star and International Player, said that “Coach Ahrens is one of the most detailed orientated coaches that I have ever had the pleasure of playing for.” All in all, Mike has accumulated over 250 victories in his coaching.

As you might expect to read, Mike is about more than teaching and coaching. He and his wonderful wife Kim have two beautiful and successful daughters–Carly and Hayden. Each of the daughters were talented athletes in high school and college, and, of course were coached by their dad. Kim was the CFO for the M-Live Newspapers.

Mike retired from Muskegon Schools because of his wife’s diagnosis of Polycystic Kidney Disease and her need to be closer to her doctors at the University of Michigan Hospital. This move has led Mike and Kim from one career to now becoming involved in the organization to help find a cure for PKD. They both spend many hours as Co-Coordinators for the Detroit Chapter of the PKD Foundation.

As with everything else Mike has done, he has taken on this role with the same passion he has shown for coaching. He and Kim organize an Ann Arbor Book Crawl to raise awareness and money for PKD. Each year this fundraiser has grown into a larger event that raises thousands of dollars for PKD and a potential cure.

Mike has now come full circle and is back where it all started–Manchester and coaching basketball. He just completed one season of coaching here and couldn’t be more pleased. He attributes this success to the good parental support and the commitment of the athletes. He has also appreciated the outpouring of support from the people of Manchester and members of his extended family.

Welcome back to Manchester, Mike!

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.