Catching Up with Coach Sheri Wimsatt
Cloudcroft School’s retiring Athletic Director talks with the Cloudcroft Reader about her career, life, and upcoming plans
Sheri Wimsatt, or “Coach” as she’s called here, springs into the Middle School gym, and with a clap of her hands, we are ready to chat.
She chuckles and says, “For 36 years, I’ve lived by a bell. Every 50 minutes, my life changes.”
Coach Wimsatt officially retired at the end of this month—she began and ended her career in Cloudcroft Municipal Schools. She’s served as the Athletic Director and Activities Coordinator for the past five years, starting in 2019.
“ I was glad to have that experience because it was fabulous.”
A longtime Cloudcroft fixture, many of the Wimsatt family members have graduated from Cloudcroft High, beginning with her grandfather, Gordon Wimsatt, who moved to the area in 1924.
Sheri Wimsatt’s parents, Steve and Dorothy, were high school sweethearts. Her mother Dorthy was a barrel racer, and her father Steve was a bull and bare-back rider.
Sheri did breakaway roping and barrel racing, and says, “it’s kind of embarrassing but I was 1982 Otero County Fair Queen.”
After graduating in 1982, Sheri attended Cochise College in Arizona, where she played basketball and was on the rodeo team. When she returned home that summer, she married her high school sweetheart, with whom she shares their son Travis.
Wimsatt says, “Well, I was very, very lucky there, too. I wanted to come back home to finish, you know, to finish my career. And it just happened real quick—I actually started here the day school started. Wow.”
‘“And at that time, my grandsons were in sixth and seventh grade. So it was just great. Gideon and ‘Obie’ are my grandkids, along with Liam and Ivy. Just fortunate.”
“When Tana offered me the athletic director position, I said, ‘No, ma’am, I don’t think I’m qualified for that job. ‘ She said, ‘Oh, you are. You’ll be fine. We’ll help you.’ Okay, so I was super nervous about that.”
“But I tell you, I was glad to have that experience because it was fabulous. And lots of help from other coaches and other athletic directors. I mean, just people out there who can help you. So it’s been great.”
“Oh boy, those first couple of years were interesting. I’d never had kindergarten before—what do you do with kindergarten? I didn’t know. So it was much fun figuring all of that out. And exhausting! But it was so much fun. Again, thankful for that experience.”
“But I’m glad to be at the end. I really am looking forward to the future.”
When asked about her future and what comes after retirement for her and her wife of eight years, Donna Clapper, Wimsatt says, “First of all, we take things day by day.”
“Because Donna’s folks live in Oregon, and they are 93. My mom passed away almost three years ago. And my dad lives in Tularosa, and he has dementia. So that is what we’re going to do, you know, until we figure things out. Donna and I will sell the mountain house this summer and move to T or C. We have a place over there. We just had our 20th anniversary of buying that house—three miles from the lake. So that is our definite plan. And we’ll take my dad over there, so he’ll be there with us.”
“I’m excited and kind of nervous about this August. It’s been a great career. I’m gunna play pickleball when I retire. I play golf. I’m gunna boat!”
When Wimsatt started her career at Cloudcroft’s schools, she worked as a Special Education assistant and a fourth and fifth-grade Teacher’s Aide. Later, she served as the High School Librarian and PE Aide. Between 1984 and 1995, she coached as the Junior Varsity volleyball, basketball, and track assistant.
“Okay, I love this. This is what I’m gunna do.”
From 1994-1995, she served as head volleyball coach before returning to school.
Of that return, Wimsatt says: ”I was like, ‘Okay, I love this. This is what I’m gunna do.’“
“I drove to Las Cruces every day of my life, summers included. It took me three years. My son was in 5th grade, and luckily, Tom, my husband, we just made it work.”
After graduating from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor’s in Education, Wimsatt taught PE, weightlifting, and volleyball for a year at Tularosa. Then, she and her family moved to Phoenix, and she got her Arizona teaching license.
Wimsatt says, “It was brutal. I got a job in downtown Phoenix. I went and did my in-service for, like, two days. Then, the principal at Chaparral Middle School called my mom, looking for me. She wanted to offer me a job—it was just so wonderful. I said, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow.’”
“Things weren’t going well. So, Tom, Travis, and I sat on the bed, and we all three decided that Travis and I needed to come home.”
Wimsatt and her son returned to New Mexico, and the couple divorced.
Starting in 1999, Wimsatt worked at Chaparral for 19 years. Of that time, she says, “It was fabulous. I loved it, loved it. I coached 8th-grade girls and boys basketball. It was an experience, yeah. We were City Champions and it was the most phenomenal thing we’ve done in my life!”
“We were City Champions more than we weren’t. It was a battle—it came down to two or three points. I love that, one of the highlights.”
Wimsatt herself was named Outstanding Athlete for Cloudcroft in 1981 and 1982.
When asked what sports she played as a student, Wimsatt says, “I played ‘em all—volleyball, basketball, track. And I was on the rodeo team. My parents rodeo’ed and then I did as well. …starting my 8th grade year, I went to state and track every year. The 400 was my favorite, favorite, favorite.”
Wimsatt reminisces: “It takes a lot of time. The families have to go through it, with the tournaments and this and that. It’s a lot of practice every day. When coaching here in Cloudcroft, I would come in at six in the morning and then have [practices] after school. My little son was raised in the gym.”
Wimsatt met her wife Donna years ago. She laughs as she remembers, “She actually was a bit more of a friend to my husband than to me. They used to go with a group that did diving trips together. Our kids knew each other. They played and hung out. And then, let’s see—my husband and I were divorced for one or two years. I would drive through town after practice, and if her car was there, I would stop at the Western, just because I felt safer. I’m kind of shy.”
“I don’t want to walk in a bar by myself. So, if she was there, I would go in so that I had a friend there. One night we started up, and we have been together ever since.”
“And don’t think there weren’t some rough times. Everybody was like, ‘What?’ It was kind of a shock for the whole community. But some were great, and some weren’t.”
“Her folks were great; they didn’t care. Donna called, ‘I’m going to come up and see you this summer, and I want to bring Sheri. And they were like, ‘okay, good.’ Donna said, ‘before I buy the tickets, I want you to know we’re a couple. So I’ll give you a little bit and you can call back to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.’”
They called back in ten minutes and said, “Come on!”
Wimsatt continues, “But everyone, as far as I know, eventually bought in. We’ve been together 22 years.”
“My whole thing has just been to be a good person. You know, not everybody likes sports.”
On Cloudcroft and the uniqueness of rural athletic programs, Wimsatt says, “I think it’s a place where the community, the families, can get together.”
“So, a lot of these kids live far away—so the games and whatnot, it’s a great place for the families to meet, to get together. I think it’s tougher in a rural area. Kids that do want to play sometimes don’t get to. But it’s tight-knit, you know, it’s a great, great place to be.”
“Up here, we don’t cut kids, you know, we take the kids.”
When asked what message she has for future teachers and coaches, Wimsatt says, “Seek advice, surround yourself with people who know what they’re doing. Make friends with the secretary and the janitors, and life will be good! I can’t remember who told me that, but it is good advice.”
Wimsatt laughs when asked what outcomes she hopes for her students.
Then, she softens as she says, “You know, my whole thing has just been to be a good person. You know, not everybody likes sports. Hopefully we find something out of all this stuff that we do that someone will enjoy—just be good people.”
“Some kids are great at math, and some at basketball. We are all just human beings.”
Read more interviews with the Cloudcroft Reader: see our chats with the Chamber of Commerce, Artist Samantha Odom, Mayor Craig Turner, or Parks and Rec. Chair Matt Willett.
Do you know someone who has a story to tell? Do you? Let us know here.
Sheri is a wonderful person. I wish them both well on their next chapter in life.
Great interview H