The Work of an Athletic Director

By Sara Platero

April 18, 2024

At Lincoln High School we have two athletic directors, Mrs. Tofft and Mr. Patterson.  They are well known as teachers and coaches but they are also the athletic directors, coordinating all athletic activities.

“I chose LHS because I was looking to become a high school teacher,” Athletic Director Justin Patterson said. “I taught middle school, prior to teaching high school and it was a growing district so it was a great opportunity to come out here and teach in Lincoln High School”

“I have been in the district since 1979.  I have been at the high school since 1985,” Tofft said.  “There was a job opening, they interviewed me and I went where the jobs were.  It was a P.E. job, and I stayed”.

Behind sports is a lot of work, which we don't see and sometimes don't appreciate, as Mrs. Tofft tells us.

“For being an athlete director I have duties such as schedule games, officials, ambulance services, or transportation,” Tofft said.  “I have to make sure that all the coaches and athletes are clear, that no games are on the same day, I give all the information so everybody in the school knows at what time each player has to leave, and I also meet with parents”.

Athletic Director is a very busy job in which you have to give your all even if in many cases it is not what you were expecting.

“You make sure that everything, when you see a game and you watch it all the things behind the scenes it's a smooth game, so if there are no problems, you know that the athletic director did their jobs,” Tofft said.

Each of them has a different perspective of their work and this is how they describe it.

“It’s very time consuming, difficult, interesting, and enlightening because you learn things all the time but it's fun to do,” Mrs. Tofft said.  “It’s a lot of communication to make sure that everybody it’s in the same page”.

“I would describe it as, trying to be a leader to the coaches, and sell them to the athletes how to be great young adults and, as a manager I make sure that things are in place to allow athletes to operate,” Patterson said.