When Coach Mark McDonald was in high school, he found that playing sports was not for him. Rather, he took to the managerial side of sports and has now grown to be the man behind the scenes; he makes sure that White Station High sports teams are eligible for state tournaments and manages every sport offered by the school.
Born and raised in Memphis, McDonald went to Memphis Central High School and attended both the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and University of Memphis for college. McDonald always knew he had a passion for teaching, so now he teaches Physical Science, primarily to ninth graders.
“I knew that when I was in school that I wanted to teach and coach,” McDonald said. “I’ve been to three different schools in my career: Snowden Junior High, Kingsbury Junior and Senior High and White Station since 2007.”
McDonald serves White Station as a teacher, tennis coach and athletic director. Previously, McDonald coached football for White Station.
“I balance teaching and [my other responsibilities] delicately,” McDonald said. “At the start of the season when I am trying to get the paperwork done, I am usually taking work home.”
McDonald has been the athletic director for White Stationsince 2007.
“The previous athletic director had retired from being an athletic director,” McDonald said. “The principal at the time brought me in and asked me to consider it.”
As athletic director, Coach McDonald is working year-round to manage all sports and ensure they comply with regulations. Coach McDonald also assists other coaches in whatever they require, maintains all of the athletic fields on campus and hires coaches.
“The soccer coach, she had some issues and it was preseason practice so I just told her that I can come and condition them,” McDonald said. “I do that all the time … I help out.”
As athletic director, McDonald juggles many other responsibilities.
“At the start of each season, I have to make sure everyone’s eligible, per the TSSAA guidelines,” McDonald said. “I have five pieces of paperwork I have to receive and keep up with and put on file. For fall sports I will be scheduling transportation for the football team, I have to enter schedules into the TSSAA. It varies as we go through the year.”
Coach McDonald acts as White Station’s school official liaison to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), which is comparable to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on a smaller scale.The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association is comparable to the NCAA for college sports but on a smaller scale. Coach McDonald also acts as the school’s official liaison to the TSSAA.
“TSSAA is the governing body for athletics in the state of Tennessee,” McDonald said. “Each sanctioned sport that they sponsor, we have to abide by their rules and regulations as far as eligibility, scheduling,”
McDonald also referees in his free time. Starting in college as a job, he found a passion for refereeing and he has been refereeing for almost 50 years since.
“Freshman year in college, you didn’t have any money,” McDonald said. “There was an advertisement, ‘Wanted: intramural basketball official’. We had a three-hour clinic and that’s how it was, they threw you to the wolves. I kind of liked it … and got involved in recreational basketball, got registered with the TSSAA and progressed from there. You could say I had a successful career, I refereed two state tournaments, which is the pinnacle for an official.”
