Clairmont hired as Reardan Athletic Director

Bonner’s Ferry native moves from substitute position

Drew Lawson, The Record-Times | Last updated Apr 28, 2023 9:9am0

REARDAN — The school district has its successor to Eric Nikkola in the athletic director position. Kenton Clairmont, 49, of Bonner’s Ferry was hired this week and approved by the school board Wednesday, April 26.

Clairmont is currently a long-term second-grade substitute teacher at the elementary school here and will move into the athletic director position July 1.

“I’ve been in athletics my whole life, so this seemed like a good next step,” Clairmont said. “I was an athlete, then a pro athlete, then a coach, then I trained athletes, so now I get to be kind of the coaches’ coach.”

Clairmont has been in education for 25 years and has a bevy of coaching experience. He has coaching stops in Bonner’s Ferry, Moscow and Clarkston, with football, baseball, softball, wrestling and basketball in his repertoire.

“I’m really fond of small towns (and) I know the importance of athletics in small towns,” Clairmont, who now resides outside Reardan, said. “It’s important that we’re letting the kids get a fair shake.”

As a preps athlete, he competed in football, wrestling, track and baseball. He received a letter of intent from North Idaho College to wrestle after high school, but ultimately decided to play catcher for the baseball team at Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston.

Following his collegiate career, he spent two years coaching before deciding to try out as a professional. He went undrafted, but was picked up by the Johnstown Johnnies, a now-defunct independent team affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Clairmont said he attended a regional athletic director’s meeting to get acquainted with others in his position around District 7. Building relationships will be his priority, followed by filling vacant coaching positions.

“I need to start building relationships with kids and coaches,” Clairmont said. “I want to find out what’s great, and what can be improved a little bit.”

Chief among current coaching vacancies are high school boys basketball and high school girls soccer. Former head coaches Brian Graham and Heaven Berarducci both resigned in recent months.