Family guy

For Notre Dame wrestling coach, it’s all about family, whether it's at school, home or at work. It's also about the Fighting Irish: he's looking for another good season on the mat.

It’s often said that Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy feels like a family, albeit one with more than 15,000 members if you include students, parents, alumni, alum parents and faculty and staff. But if there is one “actual” family that represents what Notre Dame is all about, it might be the Yanik family.

Mary Yanik is a senior at the school’s upper division and Tyler, who is the school’s head wrestling coach, graduated from Notre Dame Prep in 2012. Their brother Ryan, who currently works for Apple, graduated in 2010. Mom Sheri is on staff at NDPMA’s advancement office and has been a strong supporter and volunteer with the athletic booster club for many years. And then there’s dad, Ron Yanik, also a graduate of Notre Dame (Class of 1978) and also a very familiar presence on campus as a volunteer. 

For Tyler Yanik, who also has helped coach the Irish football and lacrosse teams, a typical day — especially during wrestling season — usually involves hours on the Notre Dame campus as well as more hours working at the family business, Duckett’s, a restaurant/pub just a few miles west of NDPMA on Walton Blvd.

“I’m actually the manager as well as the head chef at Duckett’s and I help my dad with most of the day-to-day work,” said Tyler, who attended Grand Valley State University and is finishing up a degree in integrative studies at Oakland University. He said he and his dad oftentimes compare notes from their high school experiences: Ron at Harper Woods Notre Dame, and Tyler at Pontiac NDP. 

“Most of my dad’s stories are about when he would help the school’s sports teams as a student trainer,” he said. “He says he loved his time at ND and often brings up helping the various sports teams with taping ankles, etc., and the fact that they used to call him ‘Doc Yanik.’”

Tyler, who has in the past also worked as a project manager with Royal Oak-based Adams Group Demolition, said his tenure at Notre Dame was special to him as well.

“First of all, I would say that academically, NDP made my transition to college very easy for me,” he said. “The classwork and routine that NDP has is very reflective of what colleges do.”

He said that another great thing he picked up from attending Notre Dame Prep was that making connections with as many good people as you can is a great thing. “I still have connections with not only fellow students, but teachers and former fellow players of mine from NDP,” said Yanik, who also played sports in high school. 

Faith also played a big role for Yanik at Notre Dame.

“NDP helped me with finding what faith really means to me,” he said. “I think that one of the greatest programs the school has is the Kairos retreat, in which I was a participant as well as a leader. Plus, I like the fact that NDP doesn't force you to follow a certain path to God, but allows you to set the way that best suits you.”

Between working at Duckett’s, his remaining college courses and helping out with NDP’s football teams, Tyler is one busy guy this late summer/early fall. But he is looking forward to being even busier when wrestling season begins in the winter.

“Last year's season was definitely an interesting one,” he said. “We had a lot of great talent, including John Paul Terzano, who placed fourth in Oakland County, and Nick Gale, who was a regional qualifier. We also for the first time won the Irish Duals tournament that we’ve been hosting for three years now.”

However, in the state tournament last season, due to some unfortunate injuries and sicknesses, the Irish weren’t at full strength and didn’t make it out of districts. 

“But I am extremely excited for this upcoming season,” he said. “We lost a few seniors, but we have an amazing new group of seniors who are committed to putting in the ‘off-time’ work to make their season great. I am really looking forward to sophomore Nick Gale's work as a returning regional qualifier as well as senior Parker Redburn, who has been working hard most of the summer in the weight room.”

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Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.