2 years ago, the Middle School did not have an Athletic Director. 2 years ago, the Athletic Advisory Council was not the popular and efficient leadership group that it is today. 2 years ago, communication to parents, teachers, and athletes was lacking and unorganized, and Middle School student-athletes often had to choose between school and sports. For these reasons, Matt Tuneski was appointed as the Middle School Athletic Director 2 years ago. 

From mentoring dozens of students in his leadership group to showing up to as many games as he can, Tuneski has quickly become an instrumental part of the Middle School Athletic Department. 

Tuneski has raised recognition for Middle School athletics as a whole with his revitalization of the Athletic Advisory Council. The council coordinates assemblies, pep rallies, and events. They were also responsible for the students-vs-staff basketball game last winter, an event which they plan to repeat.

Tuneski has changed the way the coaches communicate with athletes, parents, and the school itself. His leadership has helped the athletics calendar coordinate with the school calendar and has kept parents of athletes updated on all developments. Head of Middle School Leslie Ann Little describes the process as “building out when they have an opportunity to build out the athletic schedule and . . . our student life schedule, [so] that we’re not competing.” 

As the Middle School Athletic Director, Tuneski most enjoys attending Middle School games. “It’s fun to see the kids play because they work so hard and you get to see them in meaningful moments,” he says.

Tuneski has been involved with sports his entire life. He played baseball in college, coached high school baseball outside of Westminster for 10 years, and was a caddie at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland. 

Even before Tuneski’s appointment, the Middle School was working to support student-athletes. One key change was moving Office Hours from the end of the day to the middle. According to Little, the old schedule often left student-athletes in a predicament: visit Office Hours and face a coach’s disappointment for missing practice, or skip Office Hours and face disappointment from teachers and parents. “We moved Office Hours to the middle of the day because we realized we were asking students to make a choice. That wasn’t really fair.”