Three new athletic directors and their visions to push high school sports forward

Taylor Lipinski assumed the role of Athletic Director at Kearsarge Regional High School over the summer alongside a new assistant AD and superintendent.

Taylor Lipinski assumed the role of Athletic Director at Kearsarge Regional High School over the summer alongside a new assistant AD and superintendent. Courtesy

Stephen Largy overseeing Concord's varsity volleyball practice as he does his rounds checking-in with athletic teams

Stephen Largy overseeing Concord's varsity volleyball practice as he does his rounds checking-in with athletic teams Alexander Rapp—Monitor Staff

Chris Beyer, left, the Concord High girls’ cross country head coach, updates Athletic Director Stephen Largy on the team before their next event outside of the weight room.

Chris Beyer, left, the Concord High girls’ cross country head coach, updates Athletic Director Stephen Largy on the team before their next event outside of the weight room. Alexander Rapp / Monitor Staff

By ALEXANDER RAPP

Monitor Staff

Published: 10-07-2024 4:04 PM

Modified: 10-07-2024 6:26 PM


Athletic directors do a little bit of everything, from overseeing game-day operations and scheduling to equipment management and communicating common visions to parents and fans. The role and its specific duties can seem elusive to the average onlooker.

Across the state, 23 schools have new ADs for the 2024-25 year. Locally, Concord High School has hired Stephen Largy, Kearsarge Regional High School brought in Taylor Lipinski, and Ian Snowdeal joined Winnisquam.

The Monitor spoke to all three to understand how they plan to better understand their challenges and how they are planning to lead their school’s athletic departments.

Concord High School

Steve Largy previously worked as the Dean of Students for Goffstown High School and was a baseball, basketball and football coach there and in Nashua. Largy is a graduate of Concord Christian, so he sees this position as a return home.

“I believe that as the athletic administrator at Concord High School one of the most important responsibilities of the job is to set an example of the values that our athletic programs represent,” said Largy. “Interscholastic athletics teaches our student-athletes important lessons in teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, goal-setting, and facing adversity, all of which transcends school and sports.”

As a Division I school in the state capital, the pressure to perform and compete for championships always exists for students, coaches and Largy alike. His predecessor, Steve Mello, had been in the role for 16 years until his retirement. Stepping into big shoes can be daunting but it’s not something that’s fazed him during his four months on the job.

“I think it’s communicating a common vision that really brings people together. I think some of the challenges that you face as an athletic director are really good problems to have, because you have people that are extremely passionate about what they’re doing. They’re in their roles as coaches, as players, as school community members,” he said.

So far, Largy has enjoyed the daily requirements of the role and being able to work in collaboration with the larger school community to ensure success for students. Managing the many different sports at all levels in a big school like Concord is not easy, but so far his experience has been a positive one.

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“What’s great about this role as an athletic director is that day-to-day you’re managing the logistical pieces of things,” said Largy. “All of the nitty gritty that leads to that positive outcome you get to see at the end of the day, which is student-athletes on athletic fields and courts doing their best to represent their school community, and pursuing their goals and their aspirations.”

Largy said he’s lucky to have worked under other athletic directors as a coach to watch how they operated and utilized their expertise to tackle issues. He worked as a teacher for 15 years, four as an administrator and 18 as a coach. Now, at Concord he will also bring his experience to the table at discussions regarding the Memorial Field project.

“I am hopeful that my experience, work ethic, and sincere desire to instill a culture of excellence within Concord High School’s athletic programs will serve the community well. To quote the great Ted Lasso ‘I believe in believe.’ Getting everyone else to believe in the same vision is the biggest challenge in sports, and everywhere else,” Largy said.

Largy’s mission is for Concord’s athletics to support student-athlete’s to achieve their goals, gain life-long skills that transcend sports and learn to lead.

“My goal would be to create the best environment that we can as an interscholastic environment for our kids and for them to come away with an experience at Concord High School, in whatever sport they play, in whatever capacity that they join our teams. That’s not just a positive experience in terms of their general happiness, but also for their lifelong well-being,” he said.

Kearsarge RegionalHigh School

Taylor Lipinski has moved around a lot during his career. The Connecticut native attended the University of Rhode Island and pursued a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education.

Lipinski worked as an educator in California, Connecticut and Dover, NH, before taking a job as the East Region Assistant Director for Little League International. He oversaw the administration of local leagues, the regional tournament and the general operations of Little League Baseball.

“It was a great opportunity to go across New England, down South, all the way to Washington, DC, and connect with people from a wide array of backgrounds,” said Lipinski. “It’s given me so many transferable skills to this current role in just problem-solving in real-time and collaborating. It was awesome but I always wanted to get back into the school setting and create my own path and my own culture within a department and I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to do that here.”

Lipinski and new Assistant AD Molly McDonough, who was previously Kearsarge’s athletic trainer, have joined the new superintendent, John Fortney.

“I would say I lead with genuine curiosity. I wear many different hats in this current role and with that comes plenty of uncharted territory. I am inquisitive to listen, and to learn from the fantastic individuals I work with on a daily basis,” said Lipinski on his approach to leading the Cougars.

The tight-knit community has helped his transition and Lipinski aims to return the favor by engaging, communicating and administering effective leadership to ensure a top-class environment for all.

“I’m supported entirely by the community and by their staff here, and I’m able to say that on a day-in and day-out basis, I am overwhelmed with support. It’s made my transition a lot easier in regards to the undertaking of what you need to do to oversee a district,” he said.

He also aims to be deeply involved in the community in collaboration with Fortney to receive feedback and hear from all stakeholders to improve the experience for student-athletes.

Lipinski said, “We just have a community as a whole, their parents with so many different stories, different perspectives and their history with the school district. It seems like a lot of people graduate, make their own way, then end up coming back here, and it’s usually for good reason.”

Not only does Lipinski want to improve the experience, he also believes that he can create a space for more students to get involved and proudly represent their schools through athletics to build stronger relationships and improve communication throughout the student body.

“I am essentially just one piece of the big puzzle of a student athlete’s life and really creating an opportunity for them to showcase themselves. What that looks like is trying to make that experience and that opportunity as widespread, as important and effective as possible,” he said. “We really do have an opportunity to move the needle a little bit when it comes to athletics within the district.”

Winnisquam RegionalHigh School

Winnisquam has had a lot of recent turnover in the athletic director role and it has been a few years since a championship was brought back at the end of a season. Ian Snowdeal is hoping to make a difference.

“I’m looking to build up our programs, starting to develop the middle school, getting coaches in there that want to stay and help develop and work with our varsity programs and really build up on the Squam athletics,” said Snowdeal. “Really, just trying to stay here, put my roots in and build up our programs.”

All new ADs are assigned mentors, a current AD and a former one, and Snowdeal said he has benefited massively from the support of Belmont’s AD Cayman Belyea and his coaches at Winnisquam. As a former physical education teacher and middle school athletic director in Maine, he understands the role well, but is still adjusting since joining two months ago.

“The NHADA (New Hampshire Athletic Director Association) family, all the athletic directors in the state, really work together,” he said. “We’ve all been really collaborative and working together to fix issues and find solutions when needed.”

Winnisquam also has a shared campus with the middle school so ensuring a good relationship throughout Winnisquam is top of his priority list in order to grow athletics across the board.

“Collaborating with our varsity and middle school programs, keeping our athletic standard high and keeping our students on good academic standing is a big goal,” Snowdeal said. “Developing and working with the middle school, because I don’t want them to think they’re an afterthought because I’m located in high school. So I try to get over there and build that relationship with them, because they’re going to be our future athletes.”