Sean McDonald chosen as new football coach at Woodland High School

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Sean McDonald, a football coach from Kalama High School, was chosen to take over as the coach of the Woodland Beavers following a decision by the school board on May 12. He will replace Mike Woodward, who resigned in 2021 to become the head coach in Battle Ground.

McDonald is excited to take on the new role. 

“There’s a lot of potential in Woodland,” McDonald said. “I’m pretty familiar with the program and have been around it the last few years. I’m excited to get going and happy that I was chosen.”

McDonald said he will bring a “hard work mentality” to the team, as well as a “background in accountability.” 

“I want to bring a mentality where I believe in each and every one of my kids,” he said. “I really believe in the kids we have here in Woodland, and I think going forward it’s going to be a good time and there’s a ton of potential. Just have to get these kids to believe in themselves and see how to tap into it.”

McDonald said he grew up playing football. He also competed in wrestling and track and field at Kalama High School. He then went on to play football at Western Washington University, which cut the program after his first year. McDonald went on to Humboldt State University, where the team won the GNAC championship his junior year and took second his senior year. After that, he played arena football for a few years. He then had his first child which led him to take a break from playing. Besides that, he was an All-American Strength and Conditioning athlete and two-time all-league defensive lineman in college. 

Despite playing other sports, football will always be his favorite. 

“I did wrestling and track and field, but football was the one that I took a loving to and stuck with,” he said. 

As Woodland’s new football coach, McDonald has set a few goals for the program.



“I hope to create kids that are going into the workforce and to do great things,” he said. “And of course, win. I’m big into the strength and conditioning field, and I think having this position and being on campus and working with the kids on a daily basis is going to be very exciting. Ultimately, I think just creating great young men is the goal.” 

McDonald said Kalama High School is smaller compared to Woodland. He worked at Mark Morris High School prior to that, which is part of the same 2A league, so he will tread somewhat familiar territory. Woodland’s student population will “offer more choices.” 

“A wider assortment of kids always leads to being able to hold kids more accountable,” McDonald said. “When you have a pool of 30 kids versus a pool of 60 kids, you definitely have more options and can hold kids to a higher level.”

He mentioned that he also coached track and field for one year at Kalama, which gave him a much different coaching experience since the emphasis was more on individual players than the team as a whole. 

McDonald will start his new coaching position and his new role as a physical education teacher on Aug. 31, the first day of the new school year.