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Columbia Falls High School Activities Director Troy Bowman was named the 2016 Montana Class A Activities Director of the Year last month by the Montana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.

Bowman has been the activities director at Columbia Falls for the past five years. He loves the job, but admits it’s an organizational challenge.

“It’s never mundane,” the affable AD said in an interview last week. “It flies by.”

He said his wife, Kristine is a good cook and has supper ready no matter what time he gets home — and some days end well after 10 p.m. The couple have three grown children — Cody, Connor and Cassidi. They all attended Columbia Falls.

The boys were standout athletes in Columbia Falls. Connor is in the Hall of Fame and today, Cody is coaching the Glacier sophomore girls basketball team.

Bowman joined the Columbia Falls High School staff as a health enhancement teacher and athletic trainer in 1996. He was born in Ronan, lived in Missoula a bit and then moved back to Ronan, where he graduated from high school. He played football for the Chiefs as both a center and a defensive lineman. After high school he attended and graduated from the University of Montana and is an avid Grizzly fan.

Bowman credits Columbia Falls success over the years to “committed kids and committed coaches.”

The school and the athletes have also bought into weight room training, which has helped all the sports — not just football and wrestling. He said even the volleyball team hits the weight room. An indexing training system, established by football coach Jaxon Schweikert, centers on individual goals based on body type, rather than pitting one athlete against another. It works well, Bowman noted.

The weight training program is designed to make athletes faster and quicker.

But as an athletic trainer, Bowman also cautions athletes against focusing too much on one sport. He said athletes should play a multiple of sports if possible, though admits that can sometimes be difficult, especially for students pursuing scholarships.

Playing one sport can lead to overuse injuries, he said.

“A kid who plays two-three sports is more rounded,” he said.

He also reminds athletes that for every athletic scholarship, there’s 100 academic scholarships available.

He said the toughest part of the job is staying organized and doing scheduling. Keeping multiple teams on track and working with other schools can be a handful.

Of particular concern is getting qualified referees, particularly in football, Last season he had to bring in referees from outside the area to cover some Friday night games. That can put a strain on the budget — an outside team can cost $1,000 a game. The gate receipts often cover it — but not always.

With the referee shortage, the school is in danger of losing Friday night games and could have to either play on Thursday nights or Saturdays next season.

He’s actively been recruiting referees, but more are needed.

He encourages athletes to participate in summer camps and training opportunities in the off season and if they don’t think they can afford it, they should approach him.

“There’s ways we can try to help kids out,” he said.

Overall, it’s a great job, he said.

“Kids keep you young,” he said.

Principal Scott Gaiser had praise for Bowman.

“Troy is one of the most committed, professional people I’ve ever worked with,” Gaiser said. “In his five years serving as both AD and athletic trainer, Troy has generously shared his time and talents, always going the extra mile to serve our students, our coaches and the school as a whole. Even under the pressure of a stressful position,

“Troy is a calming presence. He relates to students, staff and parents alike through his respectful demeanor and his willingness to listen.

“Troy’s hard work and dedication have no doubt been instrumental to the success of Columbia Falls teams, who have won multiple state and division championships during his tenure as AD. There is no doubt he deserves to be recognized as one of the best in his field with this award.”