Dan Wall started at Camp Verde High School eight years ago, and is now making the transition into a position he had always wanted to hold: Athletic director.
Effective July 1, Wall takes the place of Mark Showers, the Cowboys’ athletic director for the last 21 years. Showers is moving over to become the high school principal.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to it for sure,” Wall said. “It’s been something that I’ve kind of desired to do for most of my professional career. I kind of went into teaching with the hope that one day I’d be able to do athletics. I definitely grew up in that environment; my dad did athletics for a while, for several years growing up, and I just really enjoyed being a part of that culture, the games and the practices and all of the time that goes into making those state runs. It’s sure been a lot of fun to help Coach Showers out for these last few years and learn from him. He did an amazing job in the I believe 21 years he’s been doing it. I’ve been very honored to hopefully carry that tradition forward.”
Wall, a native of Arvada, Colo., is also the boys basketball coach at Camp Verde. He has been serving an administrative role as assistant principal.
Danny Howe, Camp Verde Unified School District’s administrator in charge, asked Showers if he would like to be the school’s principal this upcoming year, and after some thought and prayer, he accepted.
It was more of a spur of the moment move, and given Wall’s near decade of experience with the athletics department, administration and student-athletes, it made Showers’ decision effectively a no-brainer. Wall, who played guard for San Diego Christian College’s basketball team, could often be seen watching and supporting other sports teams’ games.
“For me it’s huge. Both things that I’ve done for a long period of time, both the athletic director position and girls basketball coach,” Showers said. “They become, like I said, part of what I do and who I am and it was real important to me that somebody that takes over that athletic director position that I trust, that I know it’s in good hands and I know that that kids in Camp Verde and the community of Camp Verde are in good hands. To me having Dan take over that position was huge.”
Wall did not have any distinct goals set for when he takes over, other than to continue what Showers has started. Soon after Wall came to the school, a program called Character Matters was introduced that provided a guiding vision for Cowboys athletics. Speaking with Camp Verde coaches throughout the year, it is obvious that they transmit those messages through to their student-athletes.
In short, competition winning is always important, but it also provides greater examples of what it takes to succeed in life.
“The neatest thing about sports is that it’s just a microcosm of life and so it’s such a great teacher,” Wall said. “If we’re seeing that as coaches at Camp Verde we’re able to instruct our kids, ‘Hey this game is a big deal and really important, but in the grand scheme of life you’re learning how to be a better father, how to be a better worker, how to be a better community member through playing football or baseball, basketball, wrestling, whatever you do at Camp Verde.’ That’s our desire and that’s kind of our vision from our athletic department and that’s what we want to keep imparting to the kids.”
Aside from being the steady ballast for the high school’s sports teams, Wall wants to continue fostering connections with the community and its youngest athletes. Working alongside Showers has been an important resource, and being a father himself helps out, too.
“[Showers is] really big on the youth and the character, and I think those two pieces are going to continue to be huge moving forward, just continuing to get our young kids in the town as involved in all the sports, that’s a huge passion of mine,” Wall said. “It helps that I have young kids too, and so just being in that realm I guess just trying to help our high school coaches and some of the coaches at the younger levels connect a little bit and see if we can continue to get consistency in those programs, that’s a big desire of mine.”
Showers, who is also the Conference 2A representative on the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Executive Board, leaves behind an athletics department that he said he feels is in a good place. Turning things over to a younger person was important to him as well — someone who can inject a new energy.
“I think it has a solid foundation. The coaches are well-versed in the AIA by laws and what’s required, and we have some really strong coaches that do a really nice job,” Showers said. “It’s one of those positions that’s better for a younger man. When you start getting older, the late nights and all of the physical set up and break down of the fields and the gyms, it gets a little taxing. So I think it’s good for a younger guy who can bring in a new vision to the athletic department, and I think it’s an important thing at this point.”
Wall had to wait a while for it to happen, but his patience was rewarded when it was least expected. What he can expect is to lead a well-established athletics department to more success.
