GORHAM — In his 31 years as a high school athletic administrator, Gerry Durgin has had to make numerous decisions. From setting athletic policy and budgets, to field expansion, building renovation and scheduling or canceling games, Durgin has been at the forefront of his profession locally, statewide and nationally.

Gorham has been the athletic administrator at Gorham High since 1993 after stints at Telstar High and Fryeburg Academy.

Come mid-June, Durgin, 60, will step away from a career that he has thoroughly enjoyed. Durgin will retire and get to do more of the things he hasn’t been able to do.

“It’s time to give the job to someone younger and with more energy,” he said. “I still feel I have plenty of energy. I have no complaints. It’s been a great run, but I’m not going to miss the 85- to 90-hour work week,” he said.

One of Durgin’s best calls may not have had the long-term impact of others he has made, but it was the right one under the circumstances. In 2004, Gorham High was in the last year of a three-year contract with the Maine Principals’ Association to host the baseball and softball state finals. The Class A final in baseball that year featured powerhouse Deering and Mt. Ararat, with pitcher Mark Rogers.

Even though there was a part of Durgin that wanted to have Gorham host the game, he knew it wouldn’t work. The buildup to the game and the fan interest was just too great.

“It was going to be a marquee matchup, a once-in-a-lifetime game for this state,” said Durgin.

“I called the MPA and told them we couldn’t do it here. We didn’t have the parking, the seating or the gate receipt capabilities to handle that large of a crowd. It wouldn’t be fair to the spectators. I told the MPA they had to get Hadlock Field for the game. It took some convincing, but they agreed. Somehow the MPA got Hadlock. It was the right thing to do,” said Durgin.

The hype for the game proved worthy as a packed Hadlock Field watched Deering beat Mt. Ararat, 6-1.

Durgin’s influence as a highly respected athletic administrator has been felt at the league, state and national levels. In 2007, he served as president of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association, a position that he worked his way up to. In 2010, he received the national award of merit from the NIAAA.

Durgin has been on several MPA committees. He ran the state golf tournament for several years. For the last two years, he has been the director of the Western Maine Class A and B basketball tournament. He will continue to be the tournament director in retirement.

“I feel you have to have some level of involvement outside your school,” said Durgin.

“Being involved at the MPA level gives you a heads up on what’s going on. I had no plans to go beyond that, but my headmaster at Fryeburg Academy, Harry True, suggested I should attend the national conference. When I got there, I was impressed with the professional organization. I started on the publications committee and then chaired it. After that, I got on some boards with the NIAAA and then became president,” he said.

Through his connections with other athletic administrators around the country, Gorham’s teams, notably baseball, have been able to take spring trips to different parts of the country. Durgin noted that the team has played in Rosenblatt Stadium, home of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., and in Louisiana. On some of these trips, the teams didn’t have to pay for some expenses because of Durgin’s connections.

“(The kids) went to Louisiana after Katrina and stood where the first levee broke,” said Durgin.

Durgin will be missed by his peers in the SMAA.

“Gerry is one of the most respected athletic administrators in the state,” said Gary Stevens of Thornton Academy .

“He raised the bar for all of us in terms of professionalism. When I was starting out, he made a young AD feel welcome. He’s the first person you call if you have a question. He is the chair of our five-year strategic planning committee for the SMAA. Gerry is respected locally, statewide and nationally,” he said.

Durgin said he will miss the athletes, the coaches and hosting the big athletic events. In his tenure, Gorham High hosted state championships in field hockey, baseball, softball, track and volleyball. When Gorham moved to Class A in 2006, it ended the rivalries with Cape Elizabeth and Greely, which he missed.

“It didn’t matter what event, the crowds were incredible against those schools,” he said.

“The Gorham-Cape basketball, soccer games were huge events. It was nothing to get 500 to 600 fans at a field hockey game.”

Former boys’ basketball coach Kevin Jenkins said Durgin set high standards for the school’s teams and coaches.

“Gerry backed his coaches 100 percent,” said Jenkins, now teaching at a private school in Memphis, Tenn.

“I had known Gerry for a long time as the basketball coach at Fryeburg Academy. I knew what a good person we were getting when he applied. He’s been a good role model and a tireless worker. He has become a national figure in the profession and I don’t think people realize that. He would come back from a national meeting and you would see him mowing the athletic fields or lining them. He’s kind of a throwback AD. He’s a great family man, who has been a father figure for a lot of students and coaches,” he said.

In retirement, Durgin and wife Ellen, a retired teacher, will spend more time with their grandchildren and travel.

“The first trip will be to Hawaii,” said Durgin.

“(Also) we’ll be going to the Army-Navy football game.”

Their son-in-law, Mike Judge, married to daughter Jen, is an assistant football coach at Navy.

Durgin said he plans to stay in Maine. He loves the outdoors and likes to hunt, flyfish and golf. He and his wife plan to be frequent spectators at high school games in Gorham and around southern Maine.

 

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com

 

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