On the surface, Clyde Senters’ job seems to have little in common with his former professional passion.

But underneath, the work needed of the one-time championship racquetball player dovetails with his new post as interim superintendent of J.S. Morton High School District 201.

“If you’re not a risk-taker, this job’s not for you,” Senters said. “If you’re not willing to risk for these kids and take a risk for the community, this job is not for you.”

Senters has taken risks before, playing on the professional racquetball circuit for five years, beginning in 1978. And do not let the “interim” label fool you.

“Just because you have to pick up and leave at a certain time, you have to leave it more successful,” Senters said.

Senters, the son of a school superintendent, said he has worked as a principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent for 34 years.

“I didn’t know if I ever wanted to do that job. My father passed away as a superintendent,” he said. “It’s a very challenging job. The political end can be very difficult.”

Senters moved to Illinois from Iowa in 1970, taking a teaching job in Glendale Heights School District 19. He became a principal at age 26 after teaching social science and physical education.

He served as principal in Fox River Grove for six years and as a principal in Huntley for one year. He worked for three years as a principal in Burbank before spending two years there as assistant superintendent of student services, he said.

But it was in Cicero School District 99 where he devoted 17 years as assistant superintendent and superintendent.

“Equal access to education is very important to me,” he said. “We need to provide these children with the atmosphere to be successful and the tools to get there.”

But so is providing direction to teens, some bound for college after high school while others might move on to trade schools or other fields.

“There’s a whole different array of skills that are needed, even in our economy,” Senters said. “That’s the thing we have to instill in students: the will to go out and earn a living. You don’t start at the top.”