QUINCY – Entering his seventh year as the athletic director for Quincy schools, Brett Fancher is ready for a new season of sports. He said he feels athletics in Quincy serve as the front porch to community gathering, he said.  

“These events are places for people in the community to gather and support the kids and show community pride and see other people. Those are really important events, especially in small town communities like Quincy,” Fancher said.  

Fancher serves as an assistant principal in addition to his role as athletic director. He served in a similar role while at Oroville. He was an English and social studies teacher and was the athletic director for three years.  

He said his experience playing sports growing up and taking on coaching roles throughout his career helped shape his desire to combine education and athletics. He believes athletics serves as an extension of the classroom. 

“Growing up, I played high school sports, and it was just something that was important to me, and coaching was important to me. It's kind of one of those things that drew me into the education field and what I really wanted to do,” he said.  

Fancher played football and basketball in Tonasket, he said, as an offensive and defensive lineman in football and a center in basketball. His school played in a competitive league that was supported by a spirited community, he said.

“All the towns were really involved in all the sports and having enjoyed success during that time as an athlete, we would qualify for the state tournament and football and basketball ... it was a good experience,” he said.  

While school has not started yet, his day-to-day is beginning to pick up steam, he said. In the coming weeks, he will be doing a lot of preparation for another year of high school athletics. In addition to finalizing budgets and schedules, his goal is to help coaches be set up for a smooth start to their seasons.  

Fancher spends a lot of time communicating with different departments to ensure athletics is ready to start. This includes getting QHS students registered for their sports, working with the maintenance director to make sure facilities are ready for use and communicating with parents about schedules. Once the athletic seasons kick off, his daily duties change.  

He also works extensively with athletic directors across the Central Washington Athletic Conference.  

“It can't just be just one person unilaterally making decisions, there are a lot of decisions that are made at league levels and how we as a league operate, and how we want to present our league publicly, and the support our league wants to offer schools and athletes day to day,” he said.  

Throughout the school day, he conducts a lot of his assistant principal duties. He said that entails student supervision or teacher observations, among other responsibilities. If one of the sports teams is hosting a game, the day becomes more hectic.  

"I have to schedule all the game workers, the ticket takers, the people on the scoreboards, oversee what's going on with concessions, coordinate with a booster club periodically,” Fancher said.  

He also confirms officials for games and coordinates an arrival time for the visiting team. He likes to know when they are departing in the event there are unexpected weather delays. He typically greets the visiting coaches and guides them to their locker room for the evening.  

Fancher also assists officials with getting set up for games to make sure everything is ready for the start of a game.  

“It can be very hectic,” he said. “For an athletic director, that's where a lot of the stress is. Making sure everything is (running) smooth, and making sure the concession stand is up and going and making sure coaches and officials and teams and fans and ticket takers (are set) ... but once the game starts, and then things kind of hit their groove.” 

Though being pulled in many directions is stressful, Fancher finds it to be rewarding when he gets to watch the athletes reap the benefits.  

“When you see kids enjoy a successful experience, or at the end of the season, when they have their senior night, the things that they remember the most,” he said.  

He takes pride in the athletic events Quincy puts on because of the memories the students make, he said. It means a lot to him when students share their favorite memories of traveling to district and state tournament games because the work that went into it is paying off.  

He said athletics at Quincy has had an impact on the school's culture. While playing the sport is fun, the emphasis on academic success never waivers. The school actively works to uphold academic standards and provide support to students when they are struggling to meet them. He said student athletes feel the incentive to be successful in the classroom and on the field.  

“For kids that are excited to come to our football games or basketball games or wrestling matches and support their friends and be there, that helps build a lot of school spirit,” he said.  

Fancher has loved sports since he was a kid, he said. In his role as an athletic director, creating successful events and building community at the same time is a driving force for him. A culmination of this effort can be seen on a senior night, he said.  

“When senior night happens, and you see the parents there, it's a celebration of the parents.” Fancher said. “For a lot of parents, it’s kind of the end of going to all the football games, supporting their kids’ (sports), or all the basketball games. So, that's a meaningful night for us as well.” 

    Quincy’s Julian Ibarra goes up for the shot against Omak in January 2024. Athletic director, Brett Fancher, played basketball in high school and said he could spend an entire day watching it.
  

    Jacks running the ball in a 45-0 shutout win over Brewster in 2023. Quincy athletic director Brett Fancher said home games can create a hectic day of work for him. A lot of preparation goes into making sure events run smoothly.
  

    Quincy sophomore Emiko Kondo, right, competing in a match last season. Jacks athletic director, Brett Fancher, said their emphasis on athletics and academics creates a strong culture at Quincy High School.