Sports have always been a major part of Becky Gause’s life. So when the athletic director position at Selah High School opened up last summer, she felt like it was her calling.

The longtime Vikings volleyball coach had been looking to take the next step in her career for a long time, and after spending 14 years teaching at Davis High School in Yakima, she decided to make the move to Selah High as the Dean of Students in the fall of 2023. 

It didn’t take long for the Selah AD position to become available when her colleague, Brandon Gillespie, decided to transition to a full-time assistant principal role last summer. Gause threw her name into the hat and was selected to take over the athletic department about a month before the 2024-25 school year began.

“I have wanted to be an athletic director for a while, and when the opportunity came available, I felt like the timing was right,” said Gause, who also serves as one of the school’s three assistant principals, along with Gillespie and Joel Starr. “When you are in education, moving into the admin world is the next natural step. And, with my love for athletics, I knew this job would be a great fit for me.” 

She hasn’t been disappointed, either. Her first eight months on the job have proven to be everything she was hoping for — and more.

“It’s been a great school year so far,” Gause said. “It helps that our principal (Colton Monti) and my two assistant principal colleagues have all been ADs before, because they are there to help me whenever I need anything.”

It also doesn’t hurt that the Selah High sports programs have been wildly successful this year, with each of the fall and winter sports teams reaching the postseason, along with a number of individual athletes in swimming and wrestling.

Among those successful programs is Gause’s volleyball team, which she has coached since 2016. She plans to return to the sidelines for one more season next fall before focusing full-time on her AD duties. But that doesn’t mean she’s ready to leave coaching behind.

“My hobbies include coaching and … that’s it,” Gause said. “I started coaching basketball when I was 16 years old and did that for six years. I also coached for Team Yakima, and I’ve been with the Central Region United (CRU) volleyball club for many years. I genuinely love what I do.” 

Gause doesn’t only pride herself on being a good coach and educator; she is always looking for ways to make herself a better professional. 

After earning her undergraduate degree in education, with a minor in coaching, from Eastern Washington University in 2010, she went on to earn two master’s degrees from Western Governors University — one in curriculum and instruction and another in educational leadership, which she completed last year.

Now that she has more tools in her toolbox — plus the unwavering support of her colleagues and coaches — Gause looks forward to taking her AD role to the next level.

“After I learned the different systems and figured out what I need to be doing day-to-day, it has been going really smoothly,” she said. “I have enjoyed working with the coaches and other ADs in the area, and I’m also having a lot of fun working with the student athletes. I feel like I’m in a pretty good place.”

Aside from receiving on-the-job guidance from Monti, Gillespie and Starr, she has also been building relationships with her fellow ADs in Central Washington, including Jackson Hawk of Prosser High School — someone she has relied on for advice multiple times this year.

Gause also leans heavily on Davis High School AD Bob Stanley, who has been working at the school since she was a student.

“He knew that I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and he’s always available when I want to pick his brain or ask questions,” said Gause, a 2005 Davis High graduate. “Between Bob and my colleagues at Selah, I am surrounded by a wealth of knowledge.”

The busy schedule of being a high school AD can take some getting used to, but Gause feels like she is well-prepared after spending most of her free time around organized sports since she was a youth. While teaching at Davis, she served as the shot-clock operator at Davis basketball games and also managed the play clock during football games.

Throughout her decade and a half working in the public schools, she has done everything she can to help her two sons, ages 15 and 11, get used to spending their free time at athletic events every weekend. 

“Going to games on Friday and Saturday nights is just what our family does,” she said, explaining that she and her siblings bonded with their father over sporting events. “I’ve been very intentional about raising my boys to be comfortable and responsible in those settings, and they have grown to really enjoy it.” 

Gause’s oldest son will be a ninth-grader at Selah High next year and is involved in wrestling and soccer at Selah Middle School. Her youngest is in fifth grade and plays football, basketball and baseball.

She can’t wait to see her kids roaming the halls of Selah High School — and, hopefully, competing for the Vikings.

“Selah is such a great place to be an AD,” Gause said. “The support around the community is truly amazing to see, and we have a ton of youth programs that support our high school programs. We’re a very athletically inclined community, and I consider myself lucky to be where I am today.”