Coach O'Reilly is starting his fourth year as the head football coach and the Assistant Director of Student Activities at TJ. He is a graduate of Stonewall High School in Manassas, where he played football. A 1986 graduate of the college of William and Mary, Coach O'Reilly had a full athletic scholarship. He was a three-year letter winner at offensive guard and tackle at W&M. Coach O'Reilly was the Offensive Coordinator at Stonewall Jackson High School, helping to lead the raiders to nine playoff appearances in 15 years. Just prior to coming to TJ, he held a coaching position at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, VA. He and his wife Sheila have been married for eight years, and they have a seven-year old son, Caleb, and a two-year old son, Tyler.
Coach Travis, who attended George Mason University, majoring in history, returns for his 12th year with TJ football. He is also the JV Basketball Head Coach, and the JV Baseball Head Coach. Coach Travis was on the coaching staff at West Potomac H.S. in 1989 ( Basketball) and 1990 ( Football) when West Potomac won their second consecutive State Championship. He has also helped in the development of All-State Wide Receivers Gordon Avery, Stu Greene and Brandon Buchanan; All-Region Wide Receiver Chino Rodriguez; and All-District Defensive Back Sonny Louie. Coach Travis works on the Security Staff at TJ.
Coach Cook, the Defensive Line Coach, is a fourth year coach at TJ, his 20th year of coaching overall. A graduate of Penn State University, with a B.S. degree in Health and physical Education, Coach Cook has coached in New Jersey and Arizona, in addition to 14 years in Northern Virginia at South Lakes, Herndon, Stuart, Lee and TJ High Schools.
Coach Dade is a graduate of Herndon High School, where he lettered in Football, Indoor Track, and Cross County. He attended UVA, where he was awarded a Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Masters in Education. While at UVA, he spent time on the Track and Rugby teams. Currently a teacher at Island Creek Elementary School, he will be getting married in October to his fiancι Kristina.
Stephen East is the linebacker's coach at Thomas Jefferson. He has coached football and wrestling for the past 12 years at Lee and Langley High schools. This is his first year at TJ, where he is also the head wrestling coach. He studied philospohy at Catholic University (`93) where he played football for four years. He is an FCPS employee at McNair Elementary as the School Based Technology Specialist. His hobbies include Jeep modification and rebuilding.
A 2004 TJ graduate who lettered in Football while a student, this is Coach Kakeh's first year on the coaching side of the game. He will be working with the Defensive Line.
Coach Neff moved to Northern Virginia in 1994 with his family and attended Lake Braddock High School. He played football for four years under Coach Dall, two years as a fullback and two years as an offensive and defensive lineman. He was All-District, All-Region and Honorable Mention All-Met. He then went to Towson University to play football as a freshman in the Fall of '98. After playing guard for two years under Gordy Combs, he transferred to James Madison in the Fall of '01 where he played defensive tackle for a year under Mickey Matthews until a fifth and final concussion ended his days on the field. In the Spring of 03 he graduated with a B.S. in Biotech. Coach Neff is currently attending George Mason University's graduate school of education, concentrating in Secondary Math. While taking classes and working for FCPS, he'll also now be coaching the offensive line at TJ as a first year football coach.
Coach James, who graduated from CW Post College, coaches the JV team as the Head Coach, and the varsity team as an Assistant Coach. Out of football season, Coach James is also the Indoor and Outdoor Track Coach, and has been the Cross Country Coach. Among his many coaching highlights, Coach James coached the 1996 (class of '99) Freshman team to the best record in school history, the 1990 and 1992 JV squads to the best records in school history, coached one All State and four All District wide receivers. As the Track Coach, he has led the Girls Indoor Track and Field Team to the Virginia AAA State Championship and has been honored as a Coach of the Year by the Washington Post. Coach James has been at TJ for many years as a PE teacher.
Coach Auerbach is in his second year at Jefferson as the Offensive Line Coach. A 1995 TJ graduate, where he played football, Coach Auerbach attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where he was awarded his Bachelor and Master degrees in Operations Research. He is employed as a Defense Contractor in McLean and is single.
Coach Ryan enters his 10th year of coaching at TJ, his eighth as Cross Country Coach. He is also the Assistant Indoor and Outdoor Track Coach. Coach Ryan, a native of the Western part of the United States, is a graduate of James Madison University, in Political Science. He met his wife while at a farewell party for another TJ coach - so TJ played "matchmaker" - another benefit of coaching at TJ!
Brian Kennedy is originally from Falls Church, VA and graduated from Falls Church High School. He ultimately received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Wyoming. Running, biking, swimming and other sports were used to train for his primary interests in mountaineering, rafting, and skiing. Upon returning to the East coast he completed a Postdoctoral Research Assistantship at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. He then taught for three years in North Carolina while serving as Head Cross-Country Coach and as an Assistant Wrestling Coach. Coach Kennedy is starting his third year at TJ as an Assistant Cross-Country Coach and also as the Director of the Chemical Analysis Research Laboratory.
Coach Frels begins his first year as Golf Coach and second year as Choral Activities Director at TJHSST. Prior to teaching at Jefferson he served for two years as Associate Choral Director at Ryan High School in Denton, TX. Mr. Frels holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Oklahoma State University and earned his Masters Degree in Voice from San Jose State University.
Originally from Urbana, Illinois Coach Brooks is in his second season as Head Cheerleading Coach at Jefferson. Prior to TJ Coach Brooks was the Assistant Varsity & JV Coach at Falls Church High School where he coached for three years and helped lead the Jaguars to the 2003 National District Championship. He is a former instructor, staff member, choreographer and judge for the Eastern Cheerleading and Dance Company, former Universal Cheerleading Association All American, and National Cheerleading Association All-American nominee. Currently he is a certified judge for the Atlantic Cheer and Dance Company, serves as Vice President of the Northern Region Cheerleading Coaches Association, and is a talent scout for the All American Cheer and Dance Company that sends cheerleaders from around the country to such events as the Pro-Bowl in Hawaii. Coach Brooks has received certification from the Virginia High School League, and the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors.
Originally from South-Central Virginia, Assistant Coach Isaac Thweatt has had an amazing career in cheerleading. He has served as clinic administrator, head instructor, choreographer, and staff developer for Eastern Cheer and Dance Association. He was a top performer for the Cheer/Non-tumbling division of the All-American Cheer and Dance Hawaii Pro-Bowl Scholarship Invitational and winner of a first place scholarship. Coach Thweatt has spent several years as a guest staff member for both the Florida Citrus Bowl and the Hawaii Pro-Bowl pre-game and half-time show. Most recently he has served All-American Cheer and Dance as a talent scout. He also has served as Freshman Cheer Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach at Falls Church High School resulting in a first place victory during the 2003 District Cheer Competition.
Melissa has been dancing for 16 years and has been cheering for five years. She began cheerleading in high school in Chesapeake, Virginia where she made All-American cheerleader three years in a row and was invited to cheer in the Pro Bowl and the Citrus Bowl all three years. She was also a cheering instructor for Eastern Cheerleaders Association (ECA) in 2000 and has judged numerous cheerleading competitions. Melissa served on the Masonette's Dance Team at George Mason University for two years and had the honor of being asked to serve as an instructor for Universal Dance Association (UDA) her last year. Melissa is a recent graduate of George Mason University and looks forward to contributing to the success of the Thomas Jefferson Cheerleading Program.
Coach Davis has been a PE teacher at TJ since 1985. A graduate of Longwood College with a degree in Physical Education, Coach Davis played Field Hockey and Lacrosse while in school. In addition to Field Hockey, Coach Davis has also coached Basketball and was the Head Varsity Softball coach for many years until last year. While in high school, she was taught by her now-assistant, Coach Horton.
Coach Horton recently retired from teaching at West Potomac High School, where she coached Varsity Field Hockey, Softball, and Soccer. A graduate of Wakefield High School, she attended James Madison University where she played Field Hockey and Basketball. In 1996 she was inducted into the JMU Hall of Fame. To keep busy in her "retirement", Coach Horton substitutes at TJ.
Coach Johnson, a native of Pennington Gap, VA is a graduate of Lee High School and played two years of varsity volleyball. She is a graduate of Ferrum College, with a degree in Sports Medicine, where she played volleyball all four years. She has been the Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Oakton High School and Assistant Track Coach at James Madison High School. At TJ, she has also been the JV Softball Coach. Coach Johnson lives in Centreville and works for American Systems Corporation in the Accounting Department.
Coach Carissa Abbott returns for her second season as an assistant coach at TJ. Originally from Encino, California, Coach Abbott played collegiate volleyball at Yale University earning all conference honors from 1999-2001 and was captain of her squad in her senior year. Coach Abbott has also served as a coach for Wilson Metro Volleyball Virginia and played on the Washington DC professional women's tour in 2004.
Coach Luc started her career in volleyball at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD where she played setter and outside hitter. After high school, she attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. There, she continued to compete at the NCAA Division III level. For the past two years, she has been playing on different coed leagues throughout Fairfax County and on the women's USAV team. At the same time, she is also training in martial arts. This is her second year volunteering at Thomas Jefferson High School. Coach Luc has a degree in neuromuscular and massage therapy where she works on patients with sport related injuries, chronic pain, and soft tissue dysfunction. dysfunction.
Coach Gant grew up in Minnesota where she played volleyball, softball and was a cheerleader. In 1992 after she graduated from Hoffman-Kensington High School she attended the College of St. Benedict. She played softball for CSB for two years until she was injured. She began teaching and coaching in California and then in Minnesota. She has coached volleyball and softball for five years in Minnesota. She currently is a 6th grade teacher at Little Run Elementary in Fairfax. She lives in Manassas with her husband Chris, a Prince William County Firefighter.
Coach Holsclaw begins his first year as the Freshman Volleyball Coach at TJHSST. He has a Bachelors of Science from Ferrum College. Coach Holsclaw has been a teaching for 12 years. He teaches English as a Second Language. He is married to Tan Holsclaw and has one daughter Dhamisaa Jocelyn Holsclaw and is expecting another daughter in December.
The Thomas Jefferson Athletic Training Program provides a valuable health care service to the student athletes participating in all sports. Each Virginia Northern Region school employs a National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Certified Head and Assistant Athletic Trainer (ATC).
Athletic training services include prevention, evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation, and reconditioning of injuries to the physically active. Emergency care and basic injury care are provided to athletes during covered practices and contests. Athletic trainers are also educators in many areas of sports medicine including strength and conditioning training, basic first aid, training room management, nutrition, exercise physiology, human anatomy, and injury care. In practice, Thomas Jefferson's athletic training room staff evaluates and treats the expected muscular and skeletal problems, but they can also treat illness, infections or psychological problems.
It is comforting for students and parents to know that our athletes are under the care of American Medical Association (AMA) recognized allied health care professionals. The Thomas Jefferson Athletic Training Program is prepared to treat any life threatening injury and initiate EMS or 911 if necessary. They are trained and able to revive or sustain an athlete until paramedics arrive. The athletic trainers can also refer athletes to specialists for additional care if needed. Our athletic trainers also assist our Athletic Boosters with physicals and measuring body fat.
Mr. Rich Deivert replaces Barry Potoker this year to fill the role of Head Athletic Trainer.
Ms. Heather Murphy and Ms. Deborah Daigler are serving officially as the Assistant Athletic Trainers, but it is in name only. Both Ms. Murphy and Ms. Daigler have all the duties, authority and certification as Mr. Potoker. Ms. Daigler has a Masters degree in Sports Medicine as well as considerable experience with world class athletes. She teaches Physica at Natioal Cathedral School. Mrs. Daigler has worked with United States Track and Field (USATF) and the United States national girls volleyball team. She also has worked at a clinic in North Dakota prior to arriving at Jefferson. Ms. Murphy has just entered the Fairfax County School system as a Phys Ed tteacher in a middle school.