By Eric Trent
Winning eight Northwest Athletic Conference Championships in six years—across only two sports—requires considerable effort, and a relentless dedication to teamwork at all levels of an organization.
A profound level of buy-in is necessary, from players, coaches, administrators and fans alike.
This philosophy helps explain why Rick Ross, Peninsula College’s Associate Dean of Athletics, uses the word “we” so frequently.
While the “we” mindset pervades the Pirates’ athletic endeavors at all levels, make no mistake; Ross is at the helm.
Ross has steered the Pirate athletics ship through the proverbial NWAC Sea for 16 years, plundering the galleons of rival colleges.
He’s highly respected by his colleagues,” stated Andy Geiger, former athletic director for Stanford and Ohio State Universities.
“They know he’s a man of integrity, he follows the rules and that he does things the way they’re supposed to be done,” Geiger said, “that says a lot about his character and his personality.”
Ross didn’t always plan on leading a successful college athletic program. In fact, he started as a local sportswriter in Port Angeles.
To understand Ross’ rise through the ranks, start at the beginning.
Growing up in Port Angeles, Ross was small for his age, too small to play competitive sports past junior high.
But that didn’t deter him; Ross found his passion in sports writing.
“I was a gym rat all through school,” he said. “I was really little, so I didn’t continue playing sports in high school. I just played rec sports. But I was always around sports, so I got into newspaper writing. I covered sports at the high school paper.”
After graduating from Port Angeles High School in 1977, Ross attended Peninsula College for two years—where he was a sports reporter for the student newspaper—and then on to Western Washington University.
After Western, Ross took a sports editor job at a newspaper in Oregon for a year, then returned to Port Angeles to raise a family and work at the Peninsula Daily News.
“I love this area, so we just came back and stayed ever since,” Ross said.
From 1991 to 1995, Ross worked at Northwest Cable News, covering Port Angeles and Sequim sports.
In 1994, Ross took a job at Peninsula College as a half-time recreation director, running intramural sports.
“I had a great time with that. For a year, I had two full-time jobs,” Ross said.
When Northwest Cable News folded in 1995, Peninsula asked him to teach all the P.E. classes.
“It was kind of a surprise; I wasn’t expecting that,” he said.
Ross became a full-time P.E. instructor and also ran the rec-program from 1994 to 2000.
In 2000, Ross succeeded Jim Lunt as Pirates’ athletic director. The rest is history.
During 16 years at the reins of the athletic program, Ross has built a robust foundation for both coachers and players to be successful.
“He supports the coaches and allows them to work with their student athletes within the framework of good sportsmanship, academic achievement, and competition,” said Thomas Keegan, former Peninsula College President and current Skagit Valley Community College President. “Rick leads with integrity, is open and honest, treats others with respect and collaborates with others when making decisions.”
His recipe for success isn’t an intricate game plan, filled with complex schemes and replete with Xs and Os, it is brilliantly unrefined.
“It’s pretty simple,” Ross said. “Hire great people and let them do their job. That’s really what it comes down to.”
“We go out and find the best coach we can find, somebody that fits with our community. We hire them and just give them the resources they need to be successful,” Ross said.
That success first came in 2010, when men’s soccer won its first championship in school history under former coach Andrew Chapman. A year later, former men’s basketball coach Lance Von Vogt led the Pirates to its first basketball title since 1970.
“I really think that’s the key. I don’t meddle a lot in their coaching. We get on the same page about what we’re all working toward,” Ross said. “We want to win championships, but that’s not the main thing.”
An outside observer might be tempted to define Ross’ success by the number of championships his teams have won, or the galvanizing philosophy underlying his programs.
But just as impressive as the wins, championships, coaching accomplishments, and player successes, is the unceasing focus on developing student-athletes, and not the other way around.
“First and foremost, Rick enjoys students and is committed to their success, both on the court and field as well as in the classroom,” Keegan said. “He has a wonderful perspective of what is most important in intercollegiate athletics and applies that perspective to his work.”
During the 2015-16 school year, Peninsula garnered a 3.1 cumulative GPA across its athletics program. Pretty lofty, considering Peninsula College’s average cumulative GPA was 2.7, according to the college’s website.
“I’ve been really impressed with how much he cares about the school and the students here,” Geiger said. “They do a good job with the athletes while they’re here, both athletically and academically.”
“Most of the kids who’ve completed their credits, we’ve found a place for them to play,” Ross said. “It’s kind of the norm that we move people on to play at the next level.”
In order to have that type of success, both on and off the field, it all starts at the coaching level, and Ross has hired proficiently.
“He’s learned, very well, that there isn’t anything more important than attracting capable, charismatic coaches to the school,” Geiger said. “And creating an environment and circumstance where they can be successful.”
Ross’ coaches have successfully recruited student-athletes from around the country and across the world.
“Rick is a wonderful ambassador for the college, because he’s brought a lot of students here from around the world that are gifted people,” Geiger said. “I think athletes add a great deal of diversity, and a lot of interesting people come here.”
The 2015 men’s soccer team had athletes from six states, and from four countries.
Coaching positions at Peninsula have become so appealing, that when the head coaching job for men’s soccer came open in 2015, Peninsula had applicants from seven countries.
The coaches on campus speak highly of Rick, attributing much of their success to his principles and guidelines.
“Rick specifically has a good sense of who he wants to represent the college,” Women’s Soccer Head Coach Kanyon Anderson said. “He isn’t willing to sacrifice character for winning, so the coaches he brings in tend to share the same values as the entire college community—honesty, kindness, professionalism and competitiveness.”
“Perhaps what sets Rick apart from other NWAC athletic directors is his willingness to try new things, with faith in the outcomes.
“Rick is very patient with people when they make mistakes, which is great for those who work for him,” he said.
Anderson coached back-to-back women’s soccer championship wins in 2012 and 2013.
“There is a sense that it is all right to try something new, even if it might not work out. I think that helps keep Peninsula at the front of what we do. So many programs succeed, then get stagnant and get passed up,” Anderson said.
Ross’ confidence in his coaches’ abilities to produce results has proven beneficial to not only the program, but to the coaches themselves.
“He has been instrumental in my success,” said Ali Crumb, women’s basketball head coach. “He gave me the flexibility and the trust to build my own program the way that I wanted to build it.”
“I felt confident that I could build something, even when we weren’t good. I’m not sure there are many people out there that are like that.
“I really appreciate that, because that trust allowed us to win a championship. He definitely helped build that program in many ways,” she said.
Crumb led the Pirate women to their first ever championship in 2015.
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mitch Freeman added. “Rick is a great man to work for and work with. He gives coaches room to grow as people and in return we, us coaches, want to work hard for him and Peninsula College.”
Freeman directed the men’s team to a surprise third-place finish in the NWAC in 2015, after entering the tournament with the lowest seed.
Ross’ demonstrates a strong level of support for his coaches, which has been essential to their success, along with his open-door policy.
“Rick is always available at the drop of the hat, which is very uncommon at a lot of places,” Men’s Soccer Head Coach Cale Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez led the Pirate men to an NWAC championship win his first year at Peninsula in 2015.
“Because he’s a competitor, he’s always looking for ways to improve our programs and department as a whole,” Rodriguez said. “I think that support and competitiveness is what drives us as coaches and helps us be successful in what we do.”
And successful, they’ve been.
During the 2015-2016 school year, Crumb, Anderson and Freeman each won North Region Coach of the Year.
Peninsula College President Luke Robins said, “what sets Rick apart is his real care and concern for both our coaches and our student athletes, again, both from the competition angle and the personal/academic angle.
“He understands why athletics are important to our college community and the community at large, but he never loses sight of the big picture.”
“His understanding of the institution and his ability to communicate within the community, has allowed him to build what we have here,” Geiger added.
