THRALL — When the 2024-25 school year begins at Thrall High School there will be a couple of new faces stalking the courts following the announced retirement of head volleyball Coach Bethany Grissom and head boys basketball Coach Charles Tindol.
Grissom built an extremely successful volleyball program in her 12 years in Thrall. She surpassed the 500-win total in the season finale of the 2023 season and led the Tigerettes to 10 district titles, nine regional tournaments, and three state tournament bids, including a state runner-up finish in 2021.
Replacing Grissom will be Megan Storms, who will also be the girls athletic coordinator. Storms comes to Thrall after seven years as the head coach at Willis High School. In addition, she spent 11 years as an assistant, so she brings a great deal of experience to the program.
Personal reasons brought her to Central Texas. “My husband and I made the decision to come to the area to be closer to his daughter, who lives in Cedar Park,” Storms said. “He and I had always talked about teaching and coaching at a smaller school and had heard a lot of great things about Thrall ISD. We knew Thrall would be a great fit for us.”
Her philosophy is not all that different from Grissom’s. Relationships with the student-athletes come first. “To me, coaching is so much more than just wins and losses,” she said. “I personally believe that coaching is one of the most rewarding professions because a coach has the ability to build relationships with players, and help mold and shape their lives.”
On the basketball court, Zachary Tatro takes over for Tindol, who is retiring after helping the Tigers reach the state semifinals in 2023-24. The Tigers completed their best season in recent memory, posting a 30-7 record.
Tatro inherits a team that was heavily laden with seniors, and he will be challenged to rebuild, but it’s a challenge he feels he is up to.
This will be Tatro’s first stint as a head coach but brings 10 years of experience on the hardwood. His most recent two years were spent as the associate head coach for the Hutto Hippos, and previously he was an assistant at both Leander Glenn and Giddings high schools.
Much like Storms, Tatro said he felt like Thrall would be a good fit for him. “When the job was posted, I didn’t know very much about Thrall,” he said. “After reaching out to other coaches and doing my own research, I fell in love with Thrall and knew it was a place I wanted to be.”
Tatro pointed to community support for both academics and athletics as something that caught his eye. “Thrall prides itself on tradition, hard work and family mentality,” he said. “All of these values align with how I want my basketball program to be run and it felt like a perfect match.”
Both coaches are taking over programs that have recently reached the state tournament, and know the challenges that brings to taking over programs. “Anytime you take over for a coach who took the program to the state tournament the year before, expectations are going to be high the following season,” Tatro said. “I look forward to the challenge of meeting those expectations and continuing to build a successful program.”
With Thrall making the leap to Class 3A next season, that will be a challenge for both coaches, but one they feel they are prepared to make. “I believe one of the biggest challenges will be helping the volleyball program, and all the athletic programs, make the jump to 3A,” Storms said. “I feel I have the experience to help Thrall with this transition to 3A, and I know the athletic programs at Thrall will rise to this challenge.”
Tatro echoed Storm’s thoughts. “Moving up in classification will bring new challenges to every academic and athletic program in our school,” he said. “It is going to require a lot of dedication and hard work in order for us to compete at the highest level. We need to make sure we maximize every opportunity that we get with our players and put them in the best position to be successful.”
