Kristy Hunter has been the Athletic Director at Gloucester High School for the past nine years, watching classes of students grow as athletes as well as people.
Before becoming the athletic director, Hunter was an athletic trainer at GHS for nine years, working in the school’s athletic department for a total of 18 years.
Hunter became employed at GHS after graduating from Appalachian State University in 2004 with her master’s degree in sports management. She completed her undergraduate work in 2002 at California University of Pennsylvania.
“I love working with the kids,” said Hunter.
Since Hunter works with all grades at the high school, she is able to see students change from ninth to 12th graders. The most rewarding part of the job for her, she said, is “seeing them grow and succeed.”
Over the years, Hunter has made so many great memories cheering on the GHS teams as they make advances to regional or state play. Some of her fondest memories were when the field hockey team placed in regional and state competitions, when the Dukes’ varsity football team beat Hampton High School, as well as having two state champion wrestlers and one state champion in track and field. Hunter has also enjoyed celebrating students as they continue their athletic careers in college with signing days.
Another rewarding part of her job is when Hunter gets to print out all of the academic award certificates when varsity athletes earn a 3.25 grade point average or higher. She is especially proud of those students who make improvements in their grades to meet the eligibility requirements to receive that award.
One thing Hunter has learned from her job is to “roll with the punches.” Working in athletics can be unpredictable with unforeseen circumstances such as sudden weather events and teams tying and going into overtime. According to Hunter, flexibility is an important skill to have while working in the athletic department.
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be particularly challenging as in-person education and extracurricular activities were put on pause. This did not derail Hunter when she began planning the 2020-2021 athletic season.
Because of Hunter’s determination to give the students at Gloucester High School a chance to participate in athletics during the pandemic, GHS became the only school in the Peninsula District to be approved to play winter sports for the 2020-2021 school year. Hunter worked with athletic directors in the Bay Rivers District to add games and meets to the GHS athletic schedule.
Hunter’s work proved not to be over yet as the continuous fluctuation of the pandemic made rescheduling games a common practice as well as keeping a watchful eye out for exposures. Hun-ter was not discouraged and always showed up to games with a positive attitude and a smile on her face.
As the spring season begins, Hunter is happy to get outside and looks forward to having a relatively normal spring schedule.
Hunter was awarded the Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s Athletic Administrator of the Year for 2020 for classes five and six. She is currently the Professional Development Chair for the VIAAA and the current President of the Eastern Virginia Athletic Directors Association.