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After year’s absence, Stevens returns to McClain

Thursday, 25 June 2009

By MEREDITH CREEK

Brown News Service

GREENFIELD — Pat Stevens is returning to McClain High School as its athletic director following a one-year stint as AD at Hillsboro.

The Greenfield board of education approved Stevens’ return to the athletic director position during a special meeting Wednesday and superintendent Terry Fouch said they are “fortunate to have him back.”

“When I left Greenfield, I left on very good terms with all of the administration and coaches,” said Stevens, who served as McClain’s athletic director for seven years before being hired by Hillsboro a year ago. “And Terry Fouch and I had a discussion and he left the door open for me to come back if an opportunity arose and the opportunity has presented itself.”

A Wilmington College graduate, Stevens said he welcomes the return.

“It feels good to be going back,” he said. “I have a lot of friends there. I have a lot of friends here in Hillsboro, too, and I can’t say enough about the administration and especially Rick Earley for making me feel comfortable.”

Stevens added that he feels his transition with be “fairly easy.”

“A lot of the coaches are still there and I think it’s just going to be a smooth transition,” he said. “I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to serve Hillsboro and to return to serve the student-athletes at Greenfield. I also feel fortunate for the friends I have made in my year here. I have really enjoyed working with the administration and I will miss those guys a lot.”

Stevens was hired in June 2008 to serve as Hillsboro’s athletic director and Brent Eaton took on the position in Greenfield. With the recent retirement of longtime McClain boys basketball coach Rick VanMatre, Eaton took over the basketball job and vacated the athletic director position.

“Greenfield has a long tradition in athletics and I want to try to continue to build upon the past successes of all of the programs,” Stevens said. “I’ve known Brent Eaton for many, many years and he’s a good friend. It will be different to work with him in the basketball program with coach VanMatre not being there. It will be fun to see how he continues that.

“And the girl’s basketball program had an outstanding season last year and there are great facilities here and I just want to continue what we started several years ago and hopefully build on that.”

Hillsboro High School principal Rick Earley said the district appreciates the time Stevens gave them and described him as a friend.

“He always will be (a friend) and I wish him the best of luck,” Earley said.

When asked about plans for a new athletic director in Hillsboro, Earley said the job was posted this week and has to remain posted for eight working days. He said the district hopes to get the process going as quickly as possible and to name a successor. Stevens said he is still finishing some things for Hillsboro before he begins the job at Greenfield.

“I still have a little bit of time left here before I start over at Greenfield and I will obviously finish things here. I don’t know exactly what (the timeframe) is yet,” he said.