Tameka Addison spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the girls basketball team at Glenelg Country School, so she was aware of possible job openings in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland conference.
And when Addison learned of an opening for the girls varsity basketball coach at St. Vincent Pallotti, another IAAM school, she knew it would be the right fit. Pallotti athletic director Rick Diggs thought the same thing after interviewing Addison, the first of eight candidates.
She is the one he hired.
"It is right in my backyard," said Addison, a resident of Columbia and a 1995 graduate of Hammond High School. "My dad is from Laurel and I live right off Route 1 (in Howard County). It fit my family structure. I have a daughter Tian who will attend Pallotti as a freshman and she plays as well."
Addison is also motivated by the challenge of taking over a team that finished below .500.
"The opportunity to grow their program," she said in respone to what else appealed to her about the job. "They are coming off a pretty bad year. They are in a good conference."
Pallotti plays in the A Conference of the IAAM while Glenelg Country was in the C Conference.
"So I am moving up two levels," said Addison, a job education coach for Howard County public schools who played two years of college ball at Shepherd University in West Virginia.
Addison, whose maiden name is Harrison, was an all-county and All-Metro player at Hammond and was part of four regional title teams from 1992-95.
She takes over for Rod Hairston, who coached the team for two years.
"She is very familiar with the IAAM," Diggs said.
Addison is one of three new varsity coaches at Pallotti for the 2015-16 academic year. Ian Thomas will coach football, and Lee Campbell will coach girls soccer.
Thomas takes over for Rick Peacock, who was the coach for three years after he was an assistant at DeMatha Catholic. Campbell replaces former Pallotti and University of Maryland standout Annesia Faulkner, who wants to spend more time with her family after having her first child. Faulkner was the coach for two years, and Peacock held the post for three seasons.
Thomas grew up in Cheverly and played at DeMatha and the University of Illinois (2011 graduate) as a linebacker before having a tryout with the Washington Redskins. He was an assistant for two years under Peacock before he was named coach in December.
"I still have a lot to learn," said Thomas, who is preparing for his first head coaching job. "I feel like I am doing a good job. We have been working out since January, but there are a lot of guys that play other sports."
The Panthers won the MIAA C Conference title last year and will move up to the B conference in 2015, according to Thomas.
Thomas is trying to line up summer camps and 7-on-7 passing leagues for Pallotti. One of the top players in the program is Justin Mulbah, a strong safety and outside linebacker as a junior last year.
Campbell will also take on his first high school head position in the fall after 10 years as a youth soccer coach, including four with the Arundel Soccer Association.
"It is the next step," said Campbell, a Severna Park resident who was named last month. "Pallotti has had good seasons in the past."
Pallotti is also looking for a wrestling coach, because Andrew LaCroix is taking a job in Florida, according to Diggs.
Turnover is nothing new at many high schools, and that has been the case at Pallotti during certain stretches over the past 15 years.
"Continuity is the most important thing in high school coaching," Diggs said. "It is thankless; you have to be accommodating because parents are so much more involved. It is draining; they can't be in it for the money. They have to love what they are doing."