NCHSAA Deputy Executive Director Leads Seminar for Avery Coaches

On Tuesday, May 18^th, Avery County High School’s coaches attended a workshop at Mountain Glen Golf Club in Newland led by Que Tucker, Deputy Executive Director with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

During the workshop, Tucker led coaches through a number of exercises ranging from a “scavenger hunt” where coaches worked to fill in spaces on a sheet with signatures of other coaches who had a skill or other feature (such as could speak another language or traveled outside the United States) to more serious brainstorming sessions dealing with the positive and negative of coaches, parents, and student-athletes.

“The coaches were very honest and open about their positive working relationship as an athletic staff. It is obvious that they like and respect each other and genuinely care not only the program now, but about the future and how to make it the best it can possibly be,” Tucker remarked following the seminar. “The coaches talked openly with each other and participated fully in the activities designed to help them think about their individual philosophy and overall program at AHS.”

It is rare for a Deputy Executive Director to make a visit to a school, much less a school over three hours from the central office in Chapel Hill, to facilitate a workshop. As well, Tucker stopped actively teaching in a workshop setting a number of years ago. However, at the request of Avery athletics director Matthew Bentley (the pair have been good acquaintances for well over a decade), Tucker agreed to venture to the High Country to provide useful tools to over two dozen Avery coaches that attended the event.

“It was an awesome event. It’s great when you have someone who is basically the head of the NCHSAA come to work with our coaches. It’s great for the coaches to get to know her and vice versa to develop relationships,” Bentley said after the workshop. “That way coaches know her when they attend state championships and they can put a face to a name if they have to contact the athletic association with anything.”

The workshop took approximately six months of planning to arrange accommodating schedules.

“Que stopped doing seminars and workshops around 10 or 12 years ago. Interns normally do the seminars now, but she and I are pretty good acquaintances and I begged her and begged her and she finally gave in. She did a terrific job working with our coaches,” Bentley added. “By day’s end we had 25 coaches come in for the workshop.”

Although the training took place over the course of a single day, the effects of the training are sure to be lasting and impact the lives of the student-athletes in Avery County.

“The seminar gave the coaches a different perspective on dealing with parents and issues specifically dealing with athletes and interactions with them,’ Bentley added.

“It was a special session and I am grateful for the time to share,” Tucker said. “The leadership of Matthew Bentley and the general administration (at Avery) is to be commended.”