Like most young athletes, John Kohlmorgen had dreams of playing professional sports. By the time he got to middle school, though, Kohlmorgen knew it was exactly that – just a dream. But if the Rindge native wasn’t going to “make it,” he still wanted his passion for sports to take him to the professional ranks; it would just have to be in a different capacity than competing.
As he got further into his sports and recreation management major at Franklin Pierce University, Kohlmorgen thought scouting would be the avenue to take. While he never played football, Kohlmorgen dreamed of working for an NFL team, evaluating talent, breaking down opponents.
“I love sports, watching pro sports,” he said. Then he realized what life in professional sports really meant – there wasn’t much of one outside of the job.
“That’s not what I wanted,” he said. “When you’re traveling around, you lose that sense of community.” So Kohlmorgen set his sights on recreation, and more specifically at the local level where he knew he could have the greatest impact. Growing up in Rindge, he was always playing rec sports and loved every minute of it. It taught him skills and lessons that have stuck with him to this very day.
Kohlmorgen still remembers what participating in youth sports did for him. It’s why he volunteered when he was a little older at the Rindge Recreation Department, committing time to coaching and refereeing the younger generation.
A visit to shadow Tara Tower, the former Rindge Recreation Director, who now serves in the same capacity for the town of Lincoln cemented where he saw his career going.
His work in recreation began in his hometown, the one that provided so many opportunities as a young kid growing up and after more than seven years in the field it led him to his current role as the recreation director for the town of Jaffrey.
Kohlmorgen learned a different aspect of the job at his various stops. He spent two years as the program and sports coordinator in Rindge before taking a position as aquatics supervisor in Concord, Mass. But he missed New Hampshire, where he knew he always wanted to be. He made the move back to Milford, filling the role of program coordinator for the town rec department, and spent four years on the other side of Temple Mountain. Right after the pandemic hit, Kohlmorgen had the opportunity to move closer to home when he landed the job of program coordinator in Peterborough. It was a job he enjoyed, but the chance to lead a recreation department in the town he went to high school in was too good to pass up.
“The goal was always to be a recreation director,” he said. “And I’m glad I got to go to different departments and learn from each community I’ve been in.”
Kohlmorgen has been leading the department for less than three months, but so far he’s been busy. Summer camp started just a few weeks into his tenure and planning for future programming has been a daily task. He didn’t want to come in and try to change everything all at once because there was really no need to. He has plenty of ideas, but he understands it’s a process and one he wants to make sure is done right.
Keeping sight of what is important is key, Kohlmorgen said. While most think of recreation as something for the younger generation, Kohlmorgen wants to make sure there’s something for everybody. It’s about involving as many groups, organizations and departments as possible to provide the best experience for everyone who calls Jaffrey home.
“It’s about figuring out where are the needs of the community and working to make sure all the needs are met,” Kohlmorgen said.
It’s not the most ideal situation to take over a department in the middle of COVID-19, but all Kohlmorgen can do is keep moving forward, and planning as if programs will proceed. And like with any head of department job, there are aspects of infrastructure and facilities that need to be addressed.
“There’s definitely a list, but it’s just about putting them in order,” he said. “For the first year especially, I’m trying to learn what needs to be done.”
Kohlmorgen grew up at the Woodbound Inn in Rindge after his parents Rick and Janet bought the property when he was four years old and operated it until he graduated from Conant in 2008. The family lived in two different cabins on the property and eventually built a house there. He saw all aspects of the hospitality industry from hosting weddings and families on vacation to working most holidays.
“My parents were always working,” Kohlmorgen said and that’s where he learned the strong work ethic he pours into his job in Jaffrey.
He said being the child of an inn owner meant helping to create an environment where people could enjoy themselves.
“And really, creating fun for others is what we’re doing here,” he said of the role as Jaffrey rec director.
The Woodbound is where he learned to play golf, doing so on the small nine-hole, par-three course.
“It was pretty much my backyard,” Kohlmorgen said of his childhood. He played for the Conant golf team and still swings the clubs at courses all over the state.
For Kohlmorgen, the Monadnock region – and more specifically the Jaffrey-Rindge area – is where he feels most at home. He went to Rindge Memorial, Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School and Conant before sticking around for four years of college.
During his days at Conant, Kohlmorgen couldn’t get enough of sports. He always wanted to play basketball at Conant, like most aspiring athletes did in the towns of Jaffrey and Rindge. He got the chance to play varsity as a junior and senior, serving in the role of sixth man on an Orioles team that never lost when he was there. Kohlmorgen was part of the Conant squad that won 63 straight games. He won back-to-back state titles, the second and third in a streak of five straight Class M championships.
Kohlmorgen knew his role on the court and thrived in it.
“I was a rebounder and then get it out to the guards to make it happen,” he said. “Knowing each other’s roles and where they’d be on the court was huge.”
He played for the legendary coach Joe Giovannangeli, who won six state titles in 15 years at Conant.
“He pushed us to the limits in a good way,” Kohlmorgen said. “For me, he knew what buttons to push and get the most out of me.”
Kohlmorgen said those teams played the game exactly how it should be – unselfish and for each other. At the start of his senior season, the team was faced with unimaginable tragedy when his friend and teammate Stephen Record died in a car accident. But the team pulled together to play for their fallen teammate.
“It was really a family after that,” he said. And his friend is never far from thought, as he serves on the Stephen Record Memorial Golf Tournament committee. He’s also part of the NH Parks and Recreation Committee.
He still plays basketball with former teammates like Kyle Todd and Jimmy Peard in an adult league in Nashua because basketball has always meant so much, dating back to his days at Rindge Rec.
Kohlmorgen had plans to move back to Rindge in June, but getting the job in Jaffrey helped everything align perfectly. He’s never strayed too far from the area that meant so much to him growing up. And now he has the job that allows him to create opportunities that will hopefully make a lasting impact.