Juneau’s combined high school football team has a new head coach.
The Juneau School District announced this week that Thunder Mountain High School head coach Randy Quinto will lead the fledgling team next season.
This fall, the district announced the decision to combine the Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain teams and cheer squads in order to save costs and address declining rosters. The Alaska School Activities Association approved the request in November, allowing the district to move forward with the merger.
Director of Student Services Bridget Weiss said a committee of coaches, boosters, activities directors, administrators and football players from both high schools held interviews and made the coaching decision.
“We had two quality coaches both with experience in our system and the committee did their best to make a decision that put a football program for our community in the best position possible,” Weiss said.
Juneau-Douglas head coach Kevin Hamrick was the other candidate.
Quinto has served as head coach for the Falcons the past three years, leading them to the playoffs the last two seasons. He teaches weight training and conditioning and work readiness at Thunder Mountain.
Quinto was named 2016 State Coach of the Year in the medium schools category.
Weiss said another committee made up of district staff, parents and students will present two or three options for the new team’s mascot and colors in January. The student bodies of both schools and Yaakoosge Daakahidi High School will then vote on them.
“Kids are excited about the opportunity of coming together,” Weiss said. “We’re getting decisions made as efficiently as we can so that we can move forward.”
The district still awaits a final decision on which conference it will be playing in from ASAA.
