Donahoo Named New Harlan Community AD

Donahoo Named New Harlan Community AD -

(4-27-23) – Harlan Community School District has named Anthony Donahoo as their new athletic director/assistant principal, effective July 1st. Donahoo is the current high school principal and head football coach at Southwest Valley. He’ll be replacing Davis Pattee, who will become the High School Principal at AHSTW next school year.

We got an opportunity to sit down and speak with Donahoo about taking the position and his thoughts on the Harlan Community Athletic Program:

KNOD SPORTS: “Anthony, thank you for joining us today and congratulations on your new position. Why don't you start off by telling us about yourself.”

DONAHOO: “Yeah, Tony, my family and I, we’re really excited to get up to Harlan. I’m a former Bearcat. Originally, I started off, spent a few years at Creston and got my taste of the Hawkeye 10. Got the physical education and head football job at Southwest Valley and turned that into being the principal the last four years as well as the head football coach. And when the opportunity came available to a come over to Harlan and be the assistant principal and the athletic director; you know, that is a dream job people… they know exactly what Harlan is about, excellency in everything they do. That was something that was really appealing to my family and I.”

KNOD SPORTS: “Now what was most appealing about the position for you?”

DONAHOO: “Well, I think when you talk about the tradition of Harlan and the activities that they are great at that was something that is always appealing. But I will say that for the last four years I've been able to be the 9-12 principal at Southwest Valley, but my Masters degree was actually in sports administration. I really wanted to be an athletic director and that was something that Allen Naugle, our current athlete director, one of the best in the state and I got to learn under him and help him out with that. But really that was something that I was excited about doing. So I'm very confident in my ability to lead a high school, I've gotten that. I'm really excited for the ability to also lead the activities at Harlan now.”

KNOD SPORTS: “Now, what do you feel will be the greatest challenge as Harlan Community athletic director?”

DONAHOO: “I think when you look at the excellence that is expected there, that is something that's very, very, challenging to always live up to what that level of excellency is. Now, I will say that you know I came to Southwest Valley after back-to-back 1-8 seasons they had previously had and we turned that program into a perennial winning program year in and year out, winning playoff games that we've never done before and all that stuff and then did the same thing inside of our halls, improving test scores every year that I was there. So that is something that the expectation should always be perfection. But I always say that that is only done by making sure that you put in perfect preparation throughout the week. So that's wanting to come in and I want to make sure that I over communicate with all of the coaches and just listen to what they need, because obviously all of them have been very, very successful. But I do feel like I can help them out and sometimes that's just by listening, communicating and then continuing that level of excellence.”

KNOD SPORTS: “And that certainly is something that they, you know, the level of excellence is something that is a proud tradition at Harlan Community. I've been able to learn a lot about it since I've been here and it is well known throughout Iowa. Now you have a background in football. We talked a little bit about that. You've been at Creston. You were at Southwest Valley as their head coach. Do you see yourself getting involved with any of the current teams and at what capacity do you see it?”

DONAHOO: “Ohh man, that is a loaded question. My wife is, you know, staring at me. But, no, it's about, for me, getting in the community and then just making sure that I do the jobs that I've been hired to do to perfection. I really want to get in and help the high school academically in any way, shape, or form I can. Bring my four years of being a principal, that experience in and helping them that way. Then, making sure that I do a perfect job as an athletic director, giving the coaches everything they need. And I think that first year is really about learning and helping and growing this program because there is no year off at Harlan. They want success and they want it now and and that's something that I want to be able to provide for them. Now, going into the the future, you know there I have coached every sport under the sun. I will be a coach till the day I die. I've been asked a few times, 'You still going to go by coach,' and I absolutely will, because that's who I believe I truly am is a coach. So, going into the future, never say never. If any of the coaches need help or any of the activities need help, that is something that I will always leave the door open to be able to help with that.”

KNOD SPORTS: “What do you envision for the Harlem Community athletic program?”

DONAHOO: “I use the word 'excellence' and I think I've used that word about 100 times. But my expectation is always again, I went back to that perfect preparation. You know, 'How are we going about things?' And when I interviewed, Harlan community really talked about how they go about it and that Cyclone Way of doing things. That starts in the classroom. It starts by making sure that you have high achieving students. Next, is about the character. Everyone that has reached out to me really shows what Harlan Community is about, which is about family, and they've made us feel my own family feel like part of that already. So I think that that character piece is a big thing that my expectation is that we have, student athletes that are eligible, that they're working hard, that they have great character, and then beyond that we're putting in the work Monday through Sunday. That we're going to weights and doing all those things that make us great athletes. I think that that's a piece that's going to be important for me. So if we can put all those three things together, that success us usually followed me wherever I've gone, making sure those three things are kind of put in place. And I think that Harlan has a great history of making sure that that's a focal point of what they're about.”

View past scores by visiting the Iowa High School Athletic Association's website, Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union website,
or Iowa Quik Stats