Frank Shreve decided to pursue a career in athletic coaching as a way to give back to his community. Now, Shreve is using his graduate education from the United States Sports Academy to lead a school district athletics department in Ohio.
A native of Buckhannon, W.Va., Shreve was recently hired as the director of athletics for the Grand Valley Local School District in Ravenna, Ohio. Shreve earned his Master of Sports Science dual degree in sports management and sports coaching from the Academy in 2012 while working as a soccer coach and math teacher at Fayetteville (N.C.) Academy.
“I got into coaching because I wanted to give back to the community,” Shreve said. “I played soccer growing up and it impacted my life in a positive way. So I wanted to do something that could in turn positively impact someone else’s life.
“My Academy degree has absolutely helped me in my career,” Shreve said. “The Academy taught me so much about the organizational side to sports and showed me the importance of making professional contacts. The world of sport relies heavily on who you know, so the Academy really taught me how to build that network and how to effectively communicate with others. Communication is a big part of what athletic directors and coaches do, we bounce ideas off of each other and learn from each other. So, I appreciate that the Academy teaches those fundamental skills.”
As the school district director of athletics, Shreve is in charge of a sports program that encompasses all levels of competition – from recreational youth sports to the high school varsity teams.
“Because we are one big school district in this small community, the high school athletes often have to share field space with middle school and recreational teams,” Shreve said. “So a lot of what I do is coordinating field space and game times for everyone. In addition, because we are smaller I try to coordinate programs that are unified from the top down. Our varsity coaches teach the recreational coaches their systems so that the kids grow up in it and are ready to compete when they get to high school.”
Shreve holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and more than 10 years in athletics administration. He holds a CAA Certification through the NIAA and a National Coaching License through U.S. Soccer. He previously served as the dean of students, director of athletics, head soccer coach, and math teacher at Grand River Academy in Austinburg, Ohio.
