Salem-Keizer’s New Director of Athletics is off and running

Lara Tiffin says middle schools, partnerships, Title IX among top priorities

The newly named Coordinator of Athletics and Activities for the Salem-Keizer School District has been on the job for just a few weeks, but Lara Tiffin is already moving forward on several initiatives sent her way after she took the position.

Tiffin—who just left her post as principal at South Salem High School--started as a teacher, and has served as both an activities and athletics director during her 30 years in the district. She has been tasked with addressing several areas of concern:  among them, increasing middle school participation, growing youth engagement at all levels, and addressing Title IX concerns about equal treatment of athletes.  All that while fostering a close working relationship with all six high school athletic directors within the District.

While laying the groundwork for these overarching issues, Tiffin is also addressing immediate concerns.  For example, three of the district’s high schools did not have athletic trainers on campus, so she remedied the situation quickly, with the start of fall sports seasons just around the corner.

Another significant and related need is basic medical and health training for the districts’ coaches—many of whom work by themselves with athletes. 

“Right now, our district nurses work one-on-one with coaches to provide basic training information,” laments Tiffin.  “We need to create a system to better train our coaches to help with things like use of an EpiPen and the like.”

“We need to set up workshops for all our coaches to address what is an important part of the sports experience—support of student-athletes in an emergency medical situation.”

An important personal goal for Tiffin is an upgrade of facilities for both baseball and softball, in the form of field turf surfaces for both sports—ideally at all the high schools.

“We lose a lot of games for those sports when we have a wet spring,” says Tiffin.  “Moving games to a different location and a different day like Saturdays has been hard on families (and coaches).”

“We need some turf-based baseball and softball fields in order to make it through those springs.”

Tiffin envisions partnering with private and non-profit groups, and with the local community itself to bankroll these turf fields.  She says having those facilities available to other groups should appeal to the public at large.

That same partnership concept is also something Tiffin intends to utilize in trying to expand youth activities, especially at the middle school level.

“Eventually, I would like to work with non-profit programs, not to just raise funds, but to tap into their excellent programs, in addition to creating our own programs.  The bottom line is to expand opportunities for kids,” says Tiffin.

What those new program offerings will look like is something Tiffin has not determined—yet.  She expects that will happen as she interacts with community members from various parts of town.

“Some members of the public have already reached out to me to provide input—to let me know what their schools need,” says Tiffin.

“I don’t pretend to know what every school needs—which is why I need to reach out, too.”

Tiffin is well aware of research that shows students who participate in athletics and activities tend to have better grades and graduate on time compared to those that don’t.  But she says the need for expanded opportunities for kids goes well beyond that, especially in light of mental health issues that arose during the COVID pandemic.

“We need activities that create student connections, and self-confidence and a sense of belonging,” argues Tiffin.

“We need to build them up so they feel a sense of purpose within their community.”

Tiffin is spending much of her early time on the job learning district procedures, identifying key contacts, and understanding the ins and outs surrounding district facilities and other resources, like finances, connected with sports and activities.

Tiffin will meet with athletic directors in September for the first of what will be monthly meetings to discuss needs and issues within their programs.  She will be a resource, and will not dictate what they do at the school level.

As for the future of athletics and activities in the Salem-Keizer School District, Tiffin says she pictures a world where barriers have been eliminated, so all kids can thrive in everything from drama and music, to clubs and sports.

“We can create enough fun opportunities so they want to have fun and be connected (with their schools),” says Tiffin.

“I want to have the entire community invested in that commitment.”