Mount Tahoma AD working to change T-Birds culture. It starts with hiring alumni
Rhonda Stinson spent 19 years as an assistant volleyball coach at Lincoln High School. But in the back of her mind, she always wanted to return to Mount Tahoma, her alma mater, where she graduated in 1995, after being a star volleyball player and three-sport athlete for the T-Birds.
“I’ve always bled red and gold,” Stinson said.
After serving as the school’s head volleyball coach for four years, she’s now in her second year as the school’s athletic director.
Mount Tahoma High School, which opened in 1961, has had some powerhouse programs in the past, most notably with the football team under the late George Nordi, which won back-to-back state championships in 1979 and 1980, the school’s only state titles to date, in any sport.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey, the co-MVP of the 1981 World Series, and four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Ahmad Rashad (formerly Bobby Moore) are notable alumni. But over the years, Mount Tahoma’s athletics have become something of an afterthought.
The football team hasn’t been to the state tournament since 1984. The boys basketball team, before last winter, hadn’t been to the state tournament since 2006. In total, the school has just 10 state tournament appearances across all its sports since 2000.
Stinson, who also works as a special education paraeducator at Giaudrone Middle School, is working diligently to change the sports culture at Mount Tahoma.
“The passion we’ve brought back the last couple years is really big,” Stinson said. “The alumni are invested in Mount Tahoma. Just the school spirit, trying to raise the standard. Just getting the kids to understand, ‘You’re not just playing sports at Mount Tahoma, you have pride. You’re representing something.’”
For Stinson, it starts with targeting and hiring alumni to fill coaching positions.
“All these former athletes want to come back and bring Mount Tahoma back,” Stinson said. “You want them to share that with these kids, that attitude of, ‘We can go out and win. We can do this.’”
Jason Townsend, who’s going into his sixth season as the boys basketball coach, graduated from Mount Tahoma in 2000 and just helped the T-Birds secure their first trip to the regional round of the state tournament in 14 years.
“Having alumni back for kids who are actively in the school is huge,” Townsend said. “I’ve got blood, sweat, tears up and down the hallways. I’ve been there, I know what these kids are going through because I was one of them. I know the deck is stacked against a lot of them. You need someone who will push you to be successful not just on the floor, but off the floor.”
Townsend said he’s been on the same page with Stinson since day one, when she serving as the school’s volleyball coach.
“We communicate very well about the program, the players, we support one another in whatever it is we have going on,” Townsend said. “Her vision, I just couldn’t help but support it.”
Tacoma Public Schools have an open enrollment system, meaning a student who lives in the district can opt to attend any TPS high school, whether it’s Lincoln, Stadium, Foss, Wilson, or one of the alternative high schools, provided they provide transportation for themselves. Townsend said he’s not sure why Mount Tahoma’s athletics have lagged behind its peers, but believes the winning standard set by other schools has been a contributing factor
“Lincoln and Wilson, they have great, established longevity, successful programs in athletics,” Townsend said. “A lot of the parents and kids think, ‘I’m going to go where the success has already been sustained.’ These programs are already established. That’s fine, I don’t blame you for that. But if you’re part of the process of turning something around, how do you think it’ll look if you can turn a program around and build us into a local power?”
Townsend said when he took over the basketball program, there was almost a shame associated with being a T-Bird. Kids wouldn’t want to wear the red and gold at the mall, to the movies, wherever. He has worked hard to change that perception from the inside.
“I think just my mentality in general, I love where I played high school basketball,” he said. “Whether we’re good or not, I’m going to wear my gear. If you have something to say, we can go to the court and we can play. If you don’t think we’re good, wait until we get on the floor.
“I don’t care if we’re big, strong, fast, small, whatever, but we’re going to play hard. You’re not going to think you just walked through this game because we’re going to fight.”
That mindset — being proud of the school and playing hard — is what Stinson is working to instill across the board. In total, six head coaches are alumni: Townsend, girls basketball coach Charles Pinkett (‘95); bowling coach Bradley Gobel (‘80); boys and girls tennis coach Blue Barron (‘14); girls soccer coach Konstantin Gurmeza (‘10) and girls water polo coach Shauntrell Barker (‘13), as well as a number of assistant coaches within the program.
“It’s all about changing that culture,” Stinson said. “We preach to these kids, you have to have pride when you go out in the community. Have that pride, bleed red and gold. All of us alumni bleed red and gold. To instill that in our kids in a huge turnaround in our culture.”
