Susan Robbins has given ample time to the middle and high school student-athletes of Yarmouth.
Susan Robbins Photo courtesy of Susan Robbins
Starting next year her focus will be on her three children.
Robbins, 44, will be stepping down as Yarmouth High’s athletic director at the end of this school year, her 21st as an athletic director and 14th at Yarmouth.
“My daughter is going to be a freshman at Falmouth High School and my twin boys are going to be in middle school next year,” Robbins said. “It felt like the right time to try to back off all the crazy hours. I really want to be a fan at their games. Family is what’s most important.”
In 2016, Robbins became the first athletic director from Maine given the Thomas Frederick Award, presented annually to one athletic director by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). She is also one of 15 athletic directors from Maine to earn the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award (2012) and was Maine’s athletic director of the year in 2013.
Robbins was also co-author of a professional development course for athletic directors called Student Leadership Development.
At Yarmouth, Robbins led an athletic department that won 46 state titles in 13 sports – six of them girls’ programs (lacrosse, skiing, soccer, softball, volleyball and cross country) and seven of them boys’ programs (football, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, basketball, baseball and tennis).
“I am so proud of all the things we were able to accomplish here,” Robbins said. “We have a ton of good people who are coaches, quality people in the community and it’s really a fantastic job and you know what? I really believe I’ve left it better than I found it.”
Yarmouth has been consistently strong in soccer, skiing and lacrosse. Robbins said particular highlights for her were the state titles won by football in 2010 and 2011, softball and baseball, and helping to turn a volleyball program that “was on life support,” into a multitime state championship team.
“Football was a JV team when I came and we won back to back. Softball had never won and we earned that in 2015 and the (2017) baseball championship I was really proud of because Marc (Halstead, the varsity coach) and I are really close,” said Robbins said.
Among her peers, Robbins is regarded highly.
“I think she was the consummate professional,” said Freeport Athletic Director Craig Sickels. “She truly cares about her kids (at Yarmouth). She’s surely going to be missed. She was a leader not only in her school, our conference and our state but at the national level.”
A native of Searsmont, Robbins was a three-sport athlete at Belfast High. She played field hockey and softball at Springfield College and became an athletic director at the age of 23, working at MacDuffie School in Massachusetts for two years, followed by a five-year stint at Poland Regional.
Robbins is in the process of becoming re-certified as an assistant principal. She said she intends to stay in education.
“I’m looking forward to having a role in that relationship,” she said.
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:
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