By Tyce Dishman
Back in 1999, when times were simpler, parents couldn’t track you. But for this teen, her parents could count on her being at a Delta sporting event.
As a senior in high school, Lynde McCammon was an aide to the athletic director, Steve Reed. Fast forward nearly 30 years later and she still is seen at all athletic events, but this time as the athletic director.
Lynde Bratton, a long time Delaware Community Schools teacher, was announced as the new athletic director late this summer.
“I obviously have a lot of loyalty to Delta,” Bratton said. “I have been a big part of athletics around Delta, and I just really love that I’m able to give back now.”
This position is important to her because she has spent her whole life based around Delta. She graduated from Delta, taught and coached in the school system, and is a mother of three kids who all attended Delta.
Bratton decided to apply for this position after many friends and family members mentioned that she would be good at it.
Taking this position comes with thorns and roses. Bratton is letting go of a 22-year teaching career to take this new opportunity.
Also leaving something behind is previous athletic director Tilmon Clark. He was the AD for four years and was involved and devoted himself to all the sports programs at Delta.
“Tilmon left the department better than it was found,” Bratton said. “He just did so much with it that I just want to keep moving in that trajectory and keep building to what he had already built.”
Clark accepted a job as athletic director at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers.
Bratton is trying to continue the success that the athletic programs are moving toward. But Bratton has had a few learning curves in her first few weeks.
One unexpected challenge that she has encountered is she didn’t realize all the small things that Tilmon took care of behind the scenes.
“At the Oak Hill (football) scrimmage, I was standing on the sidelines and then said out loud, ‘Oh, it’s dark, we should turn the lights on,’ and then realized that was my job now,” Bratton said.
Bratton is not new to the football scene either; she spent her Friday nights on the sidelines as well.
She was the cheerleading head coach for nine and a half years. During four of those years, she also was a supportive cheering mom for her son Cooper, who played football.
But she didn’t just leave her pom poms on the field. She also was seen in the gym in the winter leading the cheerleaders at all basketball games.
Bratton led the Eagles to two cheerleading state championships during her coaching tenure.
Tim Cleland, the head coach of the boys and girls tennis programs for 36 years, has seen a lot of faces in the athletic director position, so it’s fair to say that he knows who will succeed. That is why he along with a few others were on the hiring committee for that position.
“It’s not necessarily about what you know, it’s how much heart you put into something and how passionate you are about something,” Cleland said. “So Lynde will work long hours and learn what she needs to succeed.”
