Desiring to become a physical education teacher from a young age, Maureen Mattson was influenced by her father, who was a physical education teacher and coach for 38 years at Hollister High School. Ms. Mattson began her career as an aquatics director and swim instructor for the City of Hollister Parks and Recreation Department during the summers while obtaining her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley and teaching credential at San Jose State University. In 1986, she became a physical education instructor at Pittsburg High School in California, a position she continues to hold today.
During her tenure at Pittsburg High School, Ms. Mattson has served as department chair and has been a coach of numerous sports, including varsity girls’ basketball, varsity boys’ volleyball, freshman girls’ basketball, assistant swim coach and cheerleading advisor and conditioning coach. Ms. Mattson was the head women’s basketball coach and a part time physical education instructor at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, from 2004 to 2010. From 2010 to 2012, she was an assistant athletic director at Pittsburg High School and organized the Athletic Golf Tournament, which raised money for all sports on campus. In 2015, she founded the unified sports program at Pittsburg High School and currently coaches four unified sports teams. Earlier in her career, Ms. Mattson served as an assistant principal from 1998 to 1999 at Pittsburg High School, overseeing athletics and student leadership.
Ms. Mattson has additionally served her local community in a number of capacities, currently serving as a mentor for Special Olympics North America (Southwest Region) Unified Champion Schools U.S. Youth Ambassadors Program. Additionally, she has served as a member of the Special Olympics North America Unified Champion Schools Academic Practitioners Network since 2018. She was a member of the Basketball Management Committee for the North Coast Section from 1994 to 1995 and the State CIF Basketball Advisory Committee from 1995 to 1997. Furthermore, she was a board member for the Friends of the Pirates Bingo from 1992 to 2006, an organization which raised money for student activities at Pittsburg High School.
Proactive within her community, Ms. Mattson is proud of her hard work, especially in unifying the general and special education students through unified sports. Currently, she is a unified sports coach for soccer, bowling, basketball and track. Unified sports join students with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team to help promote social inclusion through sports training and competition. Looking toward the future, Ms. Mattson intends to continue teaching and expanding the Unified Sports Program at Pittsburg High School and throughout the Pittsburg Unified School District.
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