TACOMA, Washington – Shawn Yohn has experience playing football in the 4A SPSL since he was a player at Rogers of Puyallup in the late 1980s and now returns to his alma mater for a second season as coach.
Always aware of the league’s great success, he began to think of new ways to market the product.
That’s when he came up with an idea: a media day before the season.
On Wednesday, the league held its first media day at The Ram Restaurant and Brewery on the Old Town waterfront, where coaches and select players from all 12 schools gathered to eat lunch, network and, yes… give media interviews.
“This is my first time participating,” said Zaydrius Rainey-Sale of Bethel, the state’s top recruit for 2025, who is headed to the University of Washington. “I think it’s cool.”
High school media days are not uncommon in other states, especially in the South, where Yohn coached before returning home.
Yohn was an assistant coach at Louisville Central High School in Kentucky when more than 70 programs participated in a day-long media day at Churchill Downs.
This idea came to his mind a few months ago when he filled out a request for information about the 2024 team for a media company.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be good for us to just do this in person?'” Yohn said.
He sent text messages to Graham-Kapowsin coach Jeff Logan and Puyallup coach Brian Grout to gauge their interest in a media day. They were enthusiastic.
So Yohn sent an email to all the coaches asking them to organize such a meeting and then started calling around to find a cost-effective venue.
“I think it’s exciting,” Logan said. “It helps to create the impression of what football is today … and it’s a great opportunity for the kids.”
Yohn admitted he was very stressed over the last week trying to pull off the event, which included a live stream media session with Eli Sports.
“For the last 72 hours, I’ve been watching the weather channel,” Yohn said. “I ordered the sun… and it turns out it was one of those ‘Chamber of Commerce’ days.”
4A Wesco will host its third consecutive media day in Everett on August 25th.
