By Don Nelson
Chase Rost’s orientation period as the Methow Valley School District’s new activities director lasted about as long as it will take you to read this sentence.
Rost, who as of last week was still getting settled in his new office, immediately had to take on the issue of whether Liberty Bell High School’s varsity football program would switch from 11-man to eight-man play this year. He also had several coaching vacancies to fill.
“We started the process and had a lot of conversations,” Rost said of the eight-man discussion. “It really took up a huge amount of our time.”
Rost said he believes the switch to eight-man play “will end up being beneficial.”
The football team had one day of outdoor practice before it was forced indoors by unhealthy, smoke-related air conditions. “We’re no different from anyone else in northeast Washington,” he said. “For a school our size, we’re fortunate to have the indoor space we do.”
Rost, who started his new job in mid-July, most recently was athletic director for the Bickleton School District in Klickitat County for two years. He said he became aware of Liberty Bell when he coached cross-country at Bickleton and came up against the Mountain Lions. Rost said he was impressed by the Liberty Bell team’s camaraderie and its roster of student athletes. “They were good kids, and respectful of their coaches,” Rost said. He also has visited the Methow Valley and saw the job as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
Wisconsin native
Rost grew up in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, just north of Green Bay, and was a multiple-sport athlete in high school. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay for a couple of years, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where he earned a degree in exercise management. He competed in cross-country and track while in college.
After graduating, Rost knew he wanted to pursue a coaching career. He started by helping coach the track team at UW-Parkside. From there he made the big move west, landing at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where he earned a master’s degree in athletic administration. He also helped coach the track team there for a couple of years.
From there, Rost took the athletic director position in Bickleton, in Klickitat County near Goldendale. Bickleton is a class 1B school.
(Bickleton, although tiny with a population of about 90, has some distinction as the proclaimed bluebird capital of the world and home to the state’s oldest tavern, The Bluebird, and the state’s oldest rodeo.)
“It was the perfect size as far as I was concerned,” Rost said of Bickleton. “I did a little bit of everything. It was a great way to learn how a system works.”
Of the Methow district, Rost said that “I feel very fortunate to be here at such a positive time … there’s been an abundance of positive energy.”
Rost said he appreciates how involved parents are in sports activities. “The parents really care,” he said. “I’ve had some good conversations.”
The Methow district, Rost said, “seems to have a place for everybody … whatever your interests are, the district tries hard to help. I’m glad athletics is a part of that.”
Fall schedules
Scheduled games and meets for all fall sports will be listed at www.methow.org/news-events/school-calendars/.
