Former Homer High School athletic director poses on Friday, July 1, 2022, at the high school athletic field in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Former Homer High School athletic director poses on Friday, July 1, 2022, at the high school athletic field in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Work ethic, grit and teamwork

After two decades, Homer athletic director says goodbye to program he helped build

Chris Perk has been a sports guy since he was young.

A friend who lived next to his grandma in Homer suggested he join the Little League team one summer when he was a kid, and later convinced him to go out for the wrestling team. From there, he was hooked.

Perk, who is well known on the southern peninsula for playing sports and later coaching and facilitating them, is leaving his position as the Homer athletic director after 22 years.

“It’s been an amazing experience working in the high school and being part of a town that’s really giving, and looks out for a lot of people,” Perk said. “In the sporting world, I’d like to think that I obtained a lot of knowledge and learned from a lot of great people.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

A graduate of Homer High School, Perk played football and basketball, and wrestled. He went on to wrestle for Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, after high school, and returned to Homer to teach physical education at the middle school in 1997. In 2000, he took over as the Homer High School wrestling coach and athletic director.

Perk said he has looked up to others in the area during his tenure, like John Andrews, former athletic director at since-closed Skyview High School; Tim Delaney, a former AD and health teacher at Kenai Central High School; and Al Howard, former Soldotna High School AD and one of the past presidents of the Kenai Peninsula School Activities Association.

“I really took notes from those guys to see how they ran their athletic departments,” Perk said. “And I think I just tried to do the right thing as much as possible.”

In addition to his duties as an AD, Perk led the Homer High wrestling team to multiple state championships during his time as coach. He and the team won state titles in 2015 and 2018, and finished as runner-ups in the 2016 and 2017 state tournaments.

Perk said building a wrestling program people wanted to be a part of, a program of work ethic and grit, was one of his biggest achievements during his time at the school.

“It was cool to be able to just know that there’s a system in place and how to build a program from the youth level, and see a group of kids go through the system and then graduate and win a couple state championships,” he said.

And getting there, he said, wouldn’t have been possible without all the support throughout the years — which included support from the booster club and Alaska Region III.

“We couldn’t have done it without great assistance and people in the community that were part of it,” Perk said. “Everyone’s … always willing, it seems like at Homer, to reach out and be a part of things.”

Even though he’s retiring from Homer, he’s not quite finished with his career. Perk said he’s headed down to Washington to take a full-time athletic director role at a local middle school, but mainly so he can be closer to his daughter and three grandkids for a few years.

He emphasized that he’s not leaving Homer for good, and they’ll still be back every summer.

“This is our community, we’re not selling out,” Perk said. “This is a good time, I think just to explore a bit.”

To him, athletics are a lot more than just a few practices and games during the season. They’re emblematic of other parts of life.

“Teamwork is so important, because in the day-to-day operation, I think we’re all on this planet together looking out for each other,” Perk said. “I also think it’s kind of cool that there’s a coach and someone that you can look up to, and it’s a way to better yourself and hopefully you can use those tools later on in life to lean on when things get tough.”

Sports teach kids the value of sacrifice and self improvement, he said.

“I guess the phrase I like to use is try to make people around you better,” Perk said. “I think sports allow that to happen if you take advantage of it.”

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Children leap forward to grab candy during a Fourth of July parade on South Willow Street in Kenai, Alaska, on July 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy Sarah Every)
Celebrating the 4th in the streets

Kenai comes out for annual Independence Day parade.

Fire crews respond to the Bruce Fire, July 4, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Alaska Division of Forestry)
Firefighting crews respond to wildfire outside Soldotna

The 8-acre fire and two “spot fires” of less than one acre each are located near Mile 102 and 103 of the Sterling Highway.

Robert Weaver was last seen at the Doroshin Bay public use cabin on June 25, 2025. (Photo provided by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Kenai wildlife refuge seeking information on missing man

Robert Weaver was last seen near Skilak Lake on June 25.

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team conducts a training mission in Seward, Alaska in 2024. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team
Anchor Point fundraiser to benefit Alaska rescue and recovery group

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization established in 2016.

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic staff (left to right) Angie Holland, RN; Jane Rohr, Sonja Martin Young, CNM; Robin Holmes, MD; and Cherie Bole, CMA provide an array of reproductive and sexual health services. (Photo provided by KBFPC)
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic releases report on STI trends on the Kenai Peninsula

The report pulls from data gathered from 2024 to early 2025.

Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Swimmers, parents call on Kenai to support Kenai Central pool

The KPBSD Board of Education last week said communities will need to step up and take over administration of pools within the next year.

Traffic passes by South Spruce Street in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai drops effort to rename South Spruce Street

The resolution would have changed the name to make it clear which road led to North Kenai Beach

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress fourth grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy calls special session for August

Lawmakers on Wednesday said they were surprised by the move.

Most Read