FARMINGDALE — Colin Roy never wanted to be a high school athletic director, but after more than 40 years in education, including nearly three decades as an athletic administrator, he’s being honored for being one of the country’s best.
Roy, the retired-but-part-time athletic director at Hall-Dale High School and Middle School, was among eight athletic directors cited for their achievements by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Roy, 65, is expected to receive his award Monday during the 48th annual National Athletic Directors Conference in Phoenix.
“Being an athletic director was not on my radar, and it wasn’t something I aspired to be,” Roy said during an interview Tuesday in his office. “I got hired here to coach in 1975, and my dream job was to come to Hall-Dale High School to coach football and teach.”
Roy graduated from Hall-Dale and then from the University of Maine with a degree in physical education and health. He was hired to teach middle school social studies, and he did so for 14 years. The school needed an athletic director in 1989, and he was asked by then-Principal David Cannan to take the job.
Roy left Hall-Dale in 1996 and became the full-time athletic director at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, remaining at the school for 16 years. While at Mt. Ararat, Roy was responsible for adding seven varsity athletic programs – including football – and 14 new teams.
“I feel pretty good about that, because I was blamed for the loss of football at Hall-Dale even though we were told what we had to cut,” Roy said. “I’m still trying to find kids here the opportunity to play football.”
As a full-time athletic director at the Topsham school, Roy was working 80 hours per week some weeks, and his sole focus was on managing the athletic department.
After enjoying retirement for two years, Roy went back to Hall-Dale in 2014 and now serves as the school’s athletic director in a part-time capacity. He says he probably works 40 to 50 hours a week.
“I come to school early because I want to be in the hallways and meet the kids,” he said. “That’s the fun part for me.”
“He is dedicated to purpose. He knows and understands that athletics is the underpinning to a young person’s future success, and he’s always there to serve his coaches and athletes in any way that he can,” Cannan said.
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