Terri Sonniksen

Terri Sonniksen might not have built Notre Dame – even if she did help with the construction of the basketball gym – but she certainly helped with the growth. She spent 41 years at Notre Dame from 1975-2016 as an athletic director and teacher where she became a key figure of a school that has become one of the most recognized in the Central Coast Section. In addition to upgrading the softball field, adding a weight room and creating the booster club in 1980 she also instituted track and field, cross country, swimming and diving, soccer, field hockey and water polo to the Spirit sports program. Among the honors she earned along the way was the CCS Distinguished Service Award in 2002, the California State Athletic Director’s Association AD of the Year in 2008-09, and the CCS Athletic Director of the year in 1996-97. During her time Sonniksen coached at one time or another nearly every sport on campus: golf, soccer, volleyball, tennis and track. The school’s 1978 basketball team finished third in state. In addition, from 1977-2016 Notre Dame won a league or section title in either basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer, track, and tennis.