Thomas Reymer
Courtesy Sam Golden
Thomas Reymer joined Carson High School as the new athletic director last week, taking over for Blair Roman.
Most recently Reymer (pronounced: Rhyme-er) had been serving as athletic director at Incline High School.
He joined Incline in 2015 before earning the athletic director role in 2016.
While also teaching physical education at Incline, Reymer’s stop prior to Northern Nevada was 11 years (2004-15) as a PE instructor with the Clark County School District.
While working in Clark County, Reymer obtained his master’s degree in sports conditioning and performance in 2013 from Southern Utah University.
Reymer will be the first to tell you his path to becoming an athletic director wasn’t a straight avenue.
“I went back to school late. I was a paramedic for a while,” said Reymer.
Reymer wasn’t born in Las Vegas, but considers himself a “Vegas kid from Nevada.”
After trekking up to Northern Nevada for hunting trips over the years, Reymer and his wife figured it was time to leave Las Vegas when he made the move to Incline.
He said he wanted to give his children the luxury of smaller class sizes, not readily available in Southern Nevada.
“Smaller schools, they were better able to foster relationships. The student-to-teacher ratio was smaller and they got to see a different side of the state of Nevada,” Reymer added.
Interest in coaching
Initially, Reymer got his start into athletics and coaching while at UNLV, joining the swim program as a volunteer coach and meet manager.
After getting his bachelor’s degree at UNLV in 2002, Reymer joined a company based out of New Orleans hosting the Olympic trials for USA triathlon.
Transitioning out of being a paramedic and into the classroom has had its challenges.
“It’s hard. You’re so used to how it’s black and white. It’s an emergency and things have to happen now,” said Reymer. “Now you have a school board dictating things. Sometimes the transition and the change is slower versus in EMS. If you find something that is not working, they (EMS) are going to correct it.”
Reymer, who lives in the Virginia City Highlands, said the takeaways from athletics are similar to those in the emergency medical service industry.
Though he was a part of a state and a few regional championships at Incline, Reymer knows winning isn’t the end-all solution in high school athletics.
“Forget the banners and the wins and losses, it’s how did you grow as a person? The friendships that you made and the things you’ve learned that you’re not going to learn sitting in a classroom doing math problems,” said Reymer.
As the school system normalizes out of the pandemic, Reymer hopes that athletic participation will continue to grow back to its baseline.
Draw to Carson High
Reymer said his first year as Carson High athletic director will be based around learning the school and the community.
“I want to learn how Carson and the tradition and the culture works,” said Reymer. “I want to be part of that culture. I don’t want to change what they’ve been doing for 150 years.”
Reymer said he was a part of rivalries in Las Vegas, but learning about the Carson-Douglas rivalry doesn’t compare to any school feuds down south.
“There may be things I would like to see done different, but there is a culture and atmosphere from everyone who is from here and stayed here,” said Reymer.
He admitted he has a classic truck that is painted in the Tiger color scheme, joking he would not drive it during Carson-Douglas weeks.
However, as a UNLV alumni, he said he will still flaunt his scarlet and gray colors.
After coaching football and track at Incline, one of the final changes he will undergo is accepting a role in the administration, stepping aside from the coaching ranks.
“It’s me accepting the fact that I’m not coaching anymore. I enjoyed coaching, so it’s going to be a tough one to swallow and step back,” said Reymer. “Even still, I’m excited to learn about the tradition here at Carson High.”