When you walk through the halls of Cashmere High School, you see trophies and photos of past sports hanging on the walls. Behind all of that success is CHS Athletic Director Jeff Carlson.
Many people are unaware that Mr. Carlson’s career began long ago in the classroom. He said, “In my first eight years here in the school district, I taught fifth-grade math and science.” However, Carlson said he never intended to go into education; he was a communications major at the University of Puget Sound. Carlson said, “So after I got my undergrad, then I started coaching basketball at Wenatchee Valley College, and at that time I got a teaching certificate through Central while I was coaching at Wenatchee Valley.”
After college, Mr.Carlson married his wife, Megan Carlson, who was a teacher at Cashmere. “You know, I never imagined we’d end up in Cashmere, but here we are, because, you know, she was a Cascade Kodiak and I was a Chelan goat. And now we’re kind of in enemy territory.” Even though he came from Chelan, he quickly became a Cashmere bulldog.
One of Mr. Carlson’s jobs as the school athletic director is to hire coaches for high school sports. When asked what he looks for in a coach, Mr. Carlson said, “High character, you know, that coaches are professional.”
Carlson has spent a lot of years helping build up the sports programs at Cashmere. Before he became the full-time athletic director, he was also the head baseball coach. “My first 12 years in the school district I was the head baseball coach,” Carlson said. “There were four years there where I was the head baseball coach and also the athletic director.” He said it was a challenge to do both jobs at once, but it also helped him understand what coaches deal with on a daily basis.
As the athletic director, Carlson has a lot of responsibilities that most people don’t really see. He makes sure things run smoothly for Cashmere school sports. “This is my tenth year as the athletic director for the district, both the middle school and the high school,” Carlson said. His job includes tasks such as scheduling games, finding referees, arranging travel plans for teams, and handling all the minor details that come with running a sports program.”
Even though there are tough parts about the job, Carlson tries to focus on the positives. “I like to focus on all the good things on the job and not try to spend too much time thinking about what might be the challenges or the negative parts of the job,” he said. Carlson also said that one of his favorite parts of his job is the people he works with. “I enjoy my job. I enjoy coming to work every day. I really enjoy working with the coaches that we have on staff.”
Over the years, he has seen how being part of a team can help students grow. “Coaching is a lot like teaching in a classroom,” Carlson said. Sports teach lessons like teamwork, leadership, and discipline, which students can use long after high school.
Two years ago, Carlson was recognized for his hard work when he was nominated for an award. “It was an Athletic Director of the Year award that they give out once each year to one of the athletic directors in our district,” Carlson said. “I was honored to be nominated for that two school years ago.” It was a proud moment for him.
Carlson knows that success takes a whole team, not just one person. He credits the coaches and athletes for all their effort. “We’ve got a great thing going here with quality student-athletes,” Carlson said. “We’ve got great coaches and good quality programs.”
After being in the Cashmere School District for 19 years, Carlson has seen the programs grow and change. From starting out as a fifth-grade teacher to now running the entire athletic department, he’s been part of a lot of memories and big moments.
Even though he didn’t plan on going into education, Carlson found his place in Cashmere. His leadership has helped shape the sports programs into something the whole school and town can be proud of. For Carlson, it’s about more than just wins and losses; it’s about creating a positive culture and giving students opportunities to succeed.
Thanks to his hard work and dedication, the future of Cashmere athletics looks bright, and the community knows its teams are in good hands.
