Timeout with … Mark Neuman, Granite Falls coach/athletic director

Published 10:40 am Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A longtime fixture at Granite Falls High School, Mark Neuman is a man of many seasons.

Currently, Neuman coaches the Tigers volleyball team. This winter will be his 15th season coaching the school’s girls basketball squad. And this spring the 38-year-old will continue his newest coaching gig, guiding Granite Falls track and field.

With so many coaching responsibilities from fall to spring, one might assume Neuman has no time for anything else. Wrong. He teaches five math classes a day.

And, oh yeah, he’s also the high school’s interim athletic director. It’s a hectic life, Neuman said, but he treasures every day.

“People have asked me if I want to go someplace else and I say, ‘You know what? I don’t want to,’” Neuman said. “I feel comfortable. I really enjoy the people I work with — a great school and a good staff here.”

Becoming a coach

Neuman’s first coaching job was middle school boys basketball in Granite Falls. He played hoops at Sultan High School but was unsure of his coaching skills at first. “I didn’t know what I was doing at all,” he said. But with former Granite Falls High basketball coach Eli Johnson’s support, Neuman found his way. In 1995 he became the Tigers’ girls basketball coach. He later took over the volleyball and track squads.

Why do you coach?

Neuman likes sports in general, but the best part about coaching is the “relationship with the kids. The kids are fun,” he said. “It keeps me young. You joke around with them and have a good time with them, but they understand, ‘OK. You’re the one in charge too.’”

The director’s chair

Neuman’s familiarity with Granite Falls athletics led him to apply for the high school’s interim athletic director job. A few months into the position, Neuman is juggling new challenges, such as scheduling games and finding someone to repair a broken score clock. “I’ll give it a shot in this (interim) position for who knows how long — it could be for two or three months, it could be for a year, it could be more,” he said.

Born to teach

By age 11, Neuman already aspired to be a teacher. “I’ve known forever what I wanted to do,” said Neuman, who attended Everett Community College and Central Washington University.

“I can’t imagine what I would do if I wasn’t a teacher,” added Neuman, whose wife, Lacie Neuman, teaches Spanish at Granite Falls High.

Book worth a second look

Mark Neuman’s favorite book is the classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. “It’s the only book that I’ve read twice,” he said. “We had to read it in high school and I really liked it. I just read it again last year. I found it interesting, intriguing, and at the same time infuriating.”