No More Mister Nice Guy

TBF National Youth Programs Coordinator Mark Gintert is leaving, though not going far

When Mark Gintert switches jobs with The Bass Federation at the end of the year, nobody who knows him doubts that he’ll be as successful with his new responsibility as he was with his previous assignment. Gintert’s departure as TBF’s national youth programs coordinator to become head of TBF’s Future Fisherman Foundation marks the end of a 10-year stretch that saw his signature program, High School Fishing, grow from an idea into a spectacular accomplishment.

Gintert’s arrival on the scene in 2006 was – for him, TBF and FLW – a happy coincidence where similar visions converged. The grassroots fishermen’s group wanted to expand its promotional efforts in youth fishing beyond a longstanding program that helped local bass clubs under its umbrella to sponsor their own youth chapters. Likewise, FLW was interested in broadening its role as the world’s largest tournament organization to encompass a bigger chunk of the fishing community.

A goal in mind

Gintert went to the interview for the national youth programs coordinator’s job with a detailed plan to recruit high schoolers into a network that not only promoted youth fishing, but did so without the same level of dependence on adult involvement. The end result was High School Fishing, a joint program of TBF and FLW that was launched in 2011. In its first year, High School Fishing involved 930 students. Today, under the Student Angler Federation (SAF) umbrella that provides participants with membership in both TBF and FLW, more than 14,000 youths participate in the program. Representing about 1,500 high schools across the country, SAF contestants can compete in a multitude of local tournaments, 45 state championships, six Opens, five Regional Championships, the Junior World Championship, High School Fishing World Finals and High School Fishing National Championship.

“When we interviewed Mark he brought up some of the things that we wanted to ramp up,” recalls TBF Executive Director Robert Cartlidge. “We were already thinking that way and expanding the junior program, which is completely different in that it’s tied to adult clubs. It was easy to see Mark had done his homework. He was a former high school board member from Ohio, and that helped form his thinking. He was the best hire I ever made. He built a base that will withstand the test of time and continue on because of the work he put into it.”

In large part, much of the work Gintert put into the Student Angler Federation and High School Fishing involved scheduling and conducting tournaments around the country. Gintert, who lives on Lake Cumberland near Monticello, Ky., with his wife, Lana, likes to fish and once owned a successful boat business that he sold soon after joining TBF. However, he never competed in tournaments. Among his first TBF assignments was to educate himself regarding how to organize and conduct competitions, but he was a quick study.

In a sport where personality and panache help drive success, Gintert was a natural. His easy-going, unassuming demeanor and work ethic made him popular with SAF participants, parents and co-workers.    

“The first few years after Mark came to us, he having never been involved in tournaments, we worked together on the basics. After that it was wind him up and let him go,” recalls Cartlidge. “He certainly puts his heart and soul into everything he does, and the result for the Student Angler Federation and High School Fishing is that he touched thousands of families in a very positive way.”

A partnership that worked

At the beginning of Gintert’s tenure, there were about 600 adult clubs that had junior chapters, and he was responsible for their various tournaments and championships. High School Fishing wasn’t even on the horizon yet, and Gintert’s plan to make high school clubs a stand-alone part of the TBF system evolved slowly at first.

“We ran some trial events in 2009, and in 2010 we had our first High School World Finals,” says Gintert, 57. “In 2011 we partnered with FLW to run our state championship series, and that really gave the program a boost because it gave us the capability to put on a lot more tournaments without worrying so much about the manpower, logistics and equipment.”

Gintert’s attentive leadership of the program has helped lift it to a level that has attracted sponsors from throughout the fishing industry. One result is that thousands of dollars in college scholarship money have gone to the winners and top finishers in various High School Fishing events. Every year since 2011, for instance, FLW has awarded $10,000 scholarships to the winners of the High School Fishing National Championship.

Likewise, various institutes of higher learning that now support college fishing teams have provided scholarships to HSF participants, most notably Bethel University of Tennessee and Murray State University of Kentucky. Thus, when Gintert exits stage left, his successor will find High School Fishing in a healthy state with a positive future.

“Mark’s contributions to the FLW/TBF High School Fishing program are immeasurable,” says FLW President of Operations Kathy Fennel. “His genuine passion for the sport and contagious enthusiasm made launching High School Fishing in schools nationwide seem much easier than it actually was. The future of High School Fishing is incredibly bright, and we owe a lot of that to the foundation that Mark helped build.”

A new challenge

As executive director of the Future Fisherman Foundation (FFF), Gintert will oversee an organization that TBF took over in 2009. Among other things, the FFF promotes fishing among schoolchildren and provides educational materials and instruction to help students keep their focus on positive lifestyles. The Hooked On Fishing-Not On Drugs program is one of the FFF’s core promotions. Gintert is also tinkering with another idea: Super Fish, a program to take fishing into junior high schools.

“It [Super Fish] is going to be one of my focuses going forward,” notes Gintert. “Hopefully I’ll be able to spend more time on the concept since I won’t be travelling [to and from HSF tournaments] so much. It could be a great tie between education and fishing. I want to help today’s kids get as excited about fishing and start junior high school clubs.”

Mission accomplished so far. If Super Fish does as well as the other youth programs he’s ramrodded, Gintert is sure to add another gold star to his resume. For now, however, High School Fishing fans probably have mixed feelings about his departure from one TBF youth program in order to perform the same sort of overhaul to another.

“I really think we made a positive difference in their lives,” observes Gintert as he considers his work during the last decade. “We helped keep a lot of kids in school. We gave them some focus and sense of purpose. We probably even helped some who had trouble setting goals for themselves turn their GPAs.

“High School Fishing was a very rewarding experience for me. If you’d told me 10 years ago that we would be where we are today, I would have expressed some serious doubts,” he adds. “But everyone involved helped get it done. We created something unique: a great way to get kids off the sofa, out of the house and into the great outdoors.”

 The thousands of high schoolers who have participated in High School Fishing, and their parents, most likely would agree.