ROYAL CITY — Matt Tait has been the Royal School District athletic director for just a few weeks and last week, he exclaimed, “I hope I’m here for 20 years.”

Tait is an eastern Washingtonian now, but he grew up a western Washingtonian. He graduated from Marysville-Pilchuck High School, for which he was a guard in basketball and catcher-infielder in baseball.

Tait likes all sports, but baseball is his game. His team made it to regionals his junior and senior years. He’s hoping Royal head coach Joe Avila will allow him to do a little volunteer coaching next spring.

Tait went to college intending to become a coach and athletic director. He received a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology from Washington State University in 2007.

Tait went on to a master’s of science in athletic administration from Central Washington University in 2015. He received his principal’s credentials from WSU this summer.

The new AD has 11 years of coaching experience. He was the head baseball coach at Tulalip Heritage from 2009-2010. He was the head basketball coach at Quincy from 2011-2015.

“I got the job in Quincy, and my wife and I decided eastern Washington is where we want to live,” he said.

Tait handled the AD duties at Quincy for two and a half months while the regular AD was out of commission in 2015. That fall he became the AD and dean of students at Waterville.

Tait, his wife and their three children live in a home they bought for vacationing in the Sunserra community of Crescent Bar. They are looking for a place in Royal or closer to Royal.

However, Sunserra will do for now. Tait enjoys playing Sunserra’s par-3 golf course with his 7-year-old son.

“He’s getting to the point he can move the ball now,” Tait said. “It takes him 15 shots to get to the hole, but he really enjoys it.”

Tait’s wife ran an in-home day care for five years. She’s giving that up this year to focus on the children and a side business the couple operates.

New Royal School District Athletic Director Matt