Once Geoff Melzer found out Badin Athletic Director Sally Kocher was retiring after 14 years at the helm, it didn’t take Melzer long to throw his hat in the ring.

“You hear rumblings that she was going to retire at some point and it is something I had been thinking about,” Melzer said. “It was a hard opportunity to pass up.”

On Monday, Melzer was named as Kocher’s successor, the school announced.

“It is my dream come true,” said Melzer, a 1987 grad of Badin. “This is my dream job.

Melzer, who played basketball and soccer at Badin, has spent the last 14 years working in the beverage industry in sales and management. He graduated from Miami with a degree in health and sports studies.

“His passion for Badin High School and his knowledge of the community, his knowledge of sports, is exceptional,” Badin principal Brian Pendergest said in a release. “His thoughts about where he wants to take the program really won over both committees.”

Melzer is currently the freshman girls basketball coach at Badin, and directs the Hamilton Hustle/Little Rams basketball program. He is the former basketball director of the Hamilton CYO program.

“Being a part of the Badin family definitely helps with the transition,” Melzer said. “I’m looking forward to making adjustments in some sports and building on to the other ones out there.”

Melzer officially starts on July 1, but will spend some of his vacation time with Kocher to learn the ropes.

“I think it is going to be a process,” Melzer said. “Just getting in there, talking with Sally, observing things, meeting with people. I have some ideas, but it is going it going to be more of a process; nobody is a big fan of big changes right away so it will be a process.”

Melzer will be the fourth athletic director at Badin since the school opened in 1966. He follows Terry Malone, Gerry Weisgerber and Kocher. Kocher had separately directed the girls’ athletic program since 1975, and the two positions were combined 14 years ago.

“I’m excited, Badin is a great place with great kids,” Melzer said. “Badin is home. I’m excited. I wish July 1 was tomorrow.”