Mayfair Welcomes Mr. Nordstrom

Mr. Nordstrom is our school's high school athletics director, as well as teaching a couple of middle school success classes. He is new to our school as of August 2026. 

Q. What does a typical day look like for you?

A. “Honestly, there aren’t any typical days, there's always something fun. What I'm trying to do at Mayfair is just get used to the processes, routines, and procedures.”

Q. How do you like your 7th grade success classes? 

A. “I’ve worked at middle school before but only in PE classes, so this is my first academic class. They’re well-behaved, and our school has done a perfect job at establishing good baseline behavior. The kids are good, they listen really well, pay attention and they’re trying.” 

Q. What made you want to become a high school athletic director? 

A. “I coached and taught most of my career, basketball and a little bit of tennis. As I got further along in my career, I realized that I really enjoyed helping my assistants develop and become head coaches.” 

Q. How long have you been an athletic director? 

A. “Modern day, Orange Lutheran, Saint Margaret's, all private schools, and a short time here at Mayfair. I've had different roles in different departments, but in total, probably ten or eleven years.” 

Q. What is the most challenging part of being an athletic director? 

A. “I think for me the hardest part was the fact that I started on campus after school had started. I missed orientation and the general rules of how Mayfair functions, so not only was I catching up with how the athletics department functioned, but also how the whole school works in as a whole.  There were many things that I struggled to figure out when I first got here, but I've started to get the hang of things."

Q. How do you support athletes who are struggling or losing motivation? 

A. “There are all kinds of challenges that athletes are going to face, whether they lose motivation, the desire to be in that sport drifts over time, student-athletes are struggling with returning from an injury, or maybe the team is struggling. There are all these different elements where we can help our coaches deal with those issues. It isn’t directly me who deals with those issues, but I help the coaches find ways to deal with some of the things that come up.” 

Q. What advice would you give to a high school student interested in athletics as a career? 

A. “I’ve coached a few, it’s really hard. My advice is to understand it’s going to be really challenging and to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented. I hope every athlete that aspires to do that can succeed but you need to understand that it'll be very challenging.” 

Q. What is the most important lesson you have learned from being an athletic director? 

A. “I feel I learn way more from these kids than I provide to them, it's often that the students help me to be a better coach. I’ve been involved with a lot of championship teams and when I'm back with those teams we never talk about the championships, we talk about the memories and our bonds.” 

Thank you Mr. Nordstrom for letting me interview you for The Windjammer. I enjoyed learning about you and your position here at Mayfair. 

Image Courtsey of Lyla Miller.