St.Thomas Aquinas High School’s athletics programs have enjoyed great success over the Ft. Lauderdale school’s history, led by great coaches, administration, and, of course, talented student-athletes. Tricia Couch, the sports information director at St.Thomas Aquinas, is the one person whose primary responsibility is to promote and maximize exposure for these programs and the individuals involved.
While you may not see or hear from Couch directly, you can bet that pretty much anything you read, see, or hear about student-athletes, coaches, or anyone else involved with St.Thomas Aquinas athletics starts with her.
She works tirelessly to promote the school’s athletics, and we thought it would be great to find out more about her role as the SID for one of the most successful high school athletics programs in the country.
Q: As I laid out in the introduction, you have a big job promoting St.Thomas Aquinas athletics. Did you attend the school or play sports, and how exactly did you get into the sports information side of things?
A: I graduated from STA in 1995. I was fortunate to have phenomenal teachers and coaches that believed in me more than I believe in myself. They were the mentors that shaped not only my future in sports, and ultimately education, but were strong female leaders that modeled sustainable success in a male-dominated industry.
I played volleyball and basketball at STA but wasn’t very good at either one. Some people learn by playing; I learned by doing the opposite. I studied the games I loved. After a knee injury, my basketball coach, Beth Sharp, asked me to be the team manager, which meant I was learning how to tape ankles, keep stats, and anything else they needed. This was where I excelled.
As far as getting into sports management, that came as a result of being a head coach at a different school and spending years learning the ins and outs of team management from that perspective
When I met our athletic director, Twan Russell, we had a very similar mindset, and the connection was immediate. It helps when you genuinely like the people you work with.
Many of our coaches were here when I was a student, so getting to know them in this role has been a journey I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Having been in their shoes, I knew what I wished I had when I was coaching, in terms of someone whose focus it was to support athletes and promote programs. So I do my best to represent our athletes, coaches, and teams as equitably as I can.
Q: What do an SID’s duties, and yours specifically, include on a daily basis?
A: On any given day the job description changes. First and foremost, I play a supporting role to our coaches and athletes when it comes to media exposure. STA probably gets more exposure than your average high school, so it’s a balancing act.
I handle our official social media accounts (@AquinasRaiders) with the help of a talented team of video and photo content creators. I oversee individual team accounts and keep team managers on brand. I push content to our student fan page so they can keep the student body engaged in games, attendance, themes, etc.
I’m the middle woman between the media and our coaches. I help coordinate interviews, and I do a fair amount of media training with some of our higher-profile athletes. I coordinate with our student sports management moderator for special events coverage, as well as making sure photographers, videographers, and traditional news media are all in place to promote our programs.
In between all that, I handle senior night events, graphic design duties, and when it comes to volleyball season, I do all the pregame announcing in addition to teaching at the school.
The thing I do the most that nobody sees but everyone notices is to make sure all of our signs, apparel, posts, digital assets, etc. are on brand.
During football season I also have VIP duties, making sure those guests are taken care of. Once that’s all done, sometimes I get to catch a game.
One of the biggest challenges I face is turnaround time. Everything needs to be done quickly and efficiently.
Q: The reputation of St.Thomas Aquinas speaks for itself, but with the school recognized as one of the top programs in the state and in the country, I would think that it really makes your job that much more important. Is that an accurate assumption?
A: Every job is important. There can be no success on the field without the support off the field and vice versa. The national reputation of STA has definitely given me the opportunity to meet some amazing people both directly and indirectly associated with athletics.
I get a lot of media traffic; that’s the one thing that keeps me fairly busy. It’s something I probably wouldn’t get at most high schools – at least not to this degree. We are blessed
Q: The school features a broad spectrum of different athletics programs, including what I would call some “non-traditional” programs like water polo. What are the challenges and opportunities of promoting these sports that many people outside the school may not be aware of?
A: The challenges of promoting teams is universal, regardless of popularity. The advantage of teams playing under the STA banner is that I don’t have to do much convincing when it comes to getting those programs media coverage.
I think it’s partly due to the fact that some sports don’t have the following that traditional sports like football have.
You mentioned water polo, and that’s a great example. There are two games going on in that sport: the one above the water and the one below the water. Have you ever tried to tread water for 32 minutes while simultaneously battling your opponent as they kick and pull? Let’s not even discuss the fact that these athletes need to have accuracy, bursts of speed, and vision all while trying not to drown.
We had Coach of the Year and Player of the Year for the 2022-2023 season for men and women’s water polo, as well as a state title in the men’s game. It seems like that would be an easy sell for media coverage, but it was much more difficult than it should have been.
With 40 teams at three levels (varsity, JV, and freshmen) in most sports, STA has more alumni athletes playing at the collegiate and professional levels of nearly every sport. That’s not including the 13 Oylmpians who call STA home.
It’s great to be an STA Raider, where we celebrate faith, family, tradition and excellence.
