Editor’s note: The following story was submitted for the Shaler Area Student Section, a collaboration between TribLive and The Oracle, the student newspaper of Shaler Area High School.
In February, Stephanie Strauss took over for Clint Rauscher as Shaler Area’s athletic director. She most recently was the athletic director at Penn Hills, and she is excited for a new challenge.
Strauss graduated from Penn Hills High School, where she was a four-sport athlete. She played volleyball, basketball, softball and threw javelin for the track team. She attended Juniata College, where she was a three-time academic All American and stayed on as the volleyball coach for three years after graduation. From there, Strauss went on to be the assistant volleyball coach at the United States Naval Academy for three years. It was there that she fell in love with the administrative and organizational side of sports.
“When I was at Navy, I loved travel planning and logistical planning,” she said.
But there is a broader appeal to being an athletic director than just planning.
“Being able to impact more student athletes. When you’re an athletic director, you get to have an impact on all the different sports. When you’re with a specific sport, it’s (that sport) all the time. You’re trying to win championships and still have a lot of impact on that team,” Strauss said.
After her time at the Naval Academy, Strauss was the athletic director at Penn Hills for eight and a half years.
“The whole job was my dream job as a kid. I was an athletic office student assistant in high school. I always thought, maybe I’ll end up here again one day. But eight and a half years is a long time. I was just ready for something new, a new challenge, a new adventure,” Strauss said.
Although she has roots in Penn Hills, Shaler already is starting to feel like home for her as well.
“My grandfather was a Shaler Area graduate. He’s in the sports Hall of Fame, so it’s really cool to see his picture on the wall when I walk down the hall. His name is Cliff ‘Lefty’ Fair. So if you see his picture, look for it. He was a sports official,” Strauss said.
Strauss is looking forward to all the new opportunities Shaler has for her and can’t wait to jump right in and try to make some positive changes.
“We want a positive sports culture here and build upon that. We already have that. We have high expectations here and just (want to) continue that trajectory to hopefully win more championships and give more kids an opportunity to play,” Strauss said.
Another priority for Strauss is working hand in hand with the coaches. Working well with all of the coaches is important to continue to build up the programs.
“I’m already starting to meet with the coaches and get a feel for them and what they need, how I can help, how I can support them and continue to grow,” Strauss said.
One thing Strauss wants to collaborate with coaches on is highlighting one game per sport to advertise and really try to encourage a higher student attendance. Having a big student section can really change the environment of the game, and it’s important for every sport to have that support, even if it’s just for one game.
“I’m working with the coaches to pick out that date for every sport that we can really market and publicize with the students to get them to show up and get a fun crowd,” Strauss said.
Transitioning to a new job in the middle of the school year was a challenge, but Strauss is adjusting thanks to the support she’s received.
“It was hard transitioning in the school year because I really wanted to finish strong at Penn Hills and hand over as much as I could and train an interim AD. So trying to train that person, but I also got approved here 60 days ago. I got an email right away for Shaler and kind of worked two jobs at once. I felt like I was living in two worlds. But now I’m here, and I’m fully here. Mr. Rauscher has been really helpful. He stayed with me the first two days. Mrs. Dillon, the administrative assistant for athletics, is amazing. She knows everything,” Strauss said.
While she is excited to be here, many are excited to have her here.
“She reminds me a lot of myself as far as what she’s about. It’s not about her. It’s about the teams and her school. That’s her focus: elevating the school and the teams. I have hopes that a lot of the things are going to continue to grow,” Rauscher said.
Strauss wants to build a positive environment for all students and give everyone more opportunities to do what they love. One goal she has is to begin a Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
“(I plan on) getting a few leaders from each team together in one room to help you all get to know each other beyond just your team and leaning on your experiences, so I can learn from what we do well, what we can work on. Get your ideas because this is your program. I’m here to help organize it. But I want it to be driven by the student athletes and the coaches,” Strauss said.
Strauss wants to build connections with all students, not just the student-athletes. There are many different aspects to high school sports, and she wants to help each and every part flourish. For example, she pointed out some of the opportunities available for students covering sports from a media perspective or promoting Shaler Area athletics via platforms such as social media.
“I want to create opportunities for students to get involved, too. Let’s create partnerships. Let’s give you experience in a safe environment, start creating your resume and creating content. Create your portfolio that you can use when you’re applying to colleges and then beyond that,” Strauss said.
Strauss is excited to start her journey at Shaler Area and make an impact on as many people as she can.
“It’s funny how life just works out sometimes,” she said. “Just follow your gut, follow your instinct, and it’s funny how life works itself out. You just sometimes let go of control and just see where it leads you. And this is where it led me.”