All four local public high schools enter the 2022-23 school year with new athletic directors who are learning the ropes as they go.
New Wilton-Lyndeborough athletic director Dennis Pelletier will be a busy man this fall after taking on WLC’s stipend position. Pelletier coaches both field hockey and baseball at John Stark Regional High School and will continue to do so throughout the year while remotely managing Wilton-Lyndeborough athletics.
“It’s just a part-time stipend position, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Pelletier said Tuesday morning, ahead of a trip to the school to check out his new digs and prepare the Warrior uniforms for the upcoming season. “I just love sports, and I really work well with kids. I’m a very positive coach on that end of it – and I want to see the same thing here.”
Pelletier said he hopes to recreate the same success at WLC that he found at John Stark, where his General field hockey team improved enough to earn the fourth seed in Division II and his baseball team won the state championship game.
“They were extremely struggling at the bottom of the barrel and now are at the top of their two sports,” Pelletier said, “and I wanted to see if I could do the same thing with a whole school program.”
The other three new local athletic directors are a bit more acclimated to their particular programs.
Conant’s Heather Linstad shared the position with Dave Springfield for several years and now enters her first full year taking on all the duties.
“The goal of our athletic program is to create a safe and engaging environment where student-athletes can pursue and thrive in the sports of their choosing,” Linstad said. “We want our student-athletes to continue to develop their strength of character, be resilient, humble and have fun.”
Mascenic and ConVal hired from within, selecting active coaches to move up the ladder.
ConVal alum and girls’ basketball coach Kevin Proctor said he leapt at the chance to start coaching at his alma mater, and going out for the AD position was a similar no-brainer.
“I played high school sports here, was in the band, and was a part of a handful of clubs,” Proctor said, “and during that time I really felt connected to this place. I really loved a lot of my teachers when I was here, but I think my most powerful lessons for me came from what happened outside the classroom. Experiences in clubs and athletics taught me how to react to a variety of emotions that we all go through in life. Whether it’s doing something new which challenges your comfortable limits, or dealing with adversity, or celebrating a success while maintaining a growth mindset. Finding a passion and having adult and peer mentors share that experience with you is a powerful thing.”
Mascenic elder statesman Mike Smith retired from teaching after last year, but dove right back in to take on the athletic director position along with his cross-country and spring track teams and plans to “hit the ground running.”
As a teacher and coach, Smith was embedded in the Mascenic high school culture through the depths of the pandemic and hopes to improve accountability and investment from student-athletes after those years spent somewhat adrift.
“We’re asking the coaches to help guide these kids who had two-and-a-half years of wandering the woods alone, basically, and help them get back on track,” Smith said.
Sports like cross-country often have to take a back seat to flashier offerings like soccer and basketball, and girls’ sports often get less attention than boys’; with that in mind, Smith said he is pushing for all Viking athletic teams to receive equal support and recognition.
“I want to ensure equity in our sports programs,” Smith said. “I want to steady the boat.”