Brunswick’s new athletic director is a familiar face.
Kaili Phillips, a Midcoast school administrator and coach who founded Brunswick High School’s girls’ volleyball program, was selected to the position by a unanimous vote of the School Board Wednesday. She was selected over 15 candidates, including longtime Brunswick High lacrosse coach Don Glover.
Kaili Phillips Courtesy of Brunswick School Department
“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to return to Brunswick High School,” said Phillips, currently the assistant principal at Mt. Ararat Middle School in Topsham, in a statement. “The students, teachers, staff, parents and local community have such pride in our athletic offerings and successes. I’m excited about what we can accomplish together for our students and town.”
Phillips starts July 1 and her salary is $99,086. She will replace Aaron Watson, who is resigning after two years as athletic director. She is the first woman to serve in the position.
Phillips, who lives in Brunswick, graduated from the University of Maine in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in education. She was captain of the volleyball team and a two-time All-American East selection. She earned a master’s degree in literacy education from UMaine in 2009.
Phillips was a teacher at Mt. Ararat Middle School, Thornton Academy and Biddeford High School. In 2016, she founded the Brunswick High School girls’ volleyball program and led the team to the playoffs in its first three years. In 2019, the team was honored with the Maine Principal Association’s Sportsmanship Award. Phillips left the team in 2020 and became assistant principal at Mt. Ararat Middle School.
“During her tenure in Brunswick, she was known for building strong relationships with players and championing sportsmanship, competition, academics and camaraderie,” Superintendent Phil Potenziano said. “Kaili has a proven track record of connecting with students on the court, in the classroom and in the hallways.”
Before the board’s vote Wednesday, a group of about 10 parents and former coaches urged the board to choose Glover, who was Brunswick High’s lacrosse coach from 1997-2019 and won four state titles. Glover has been a math teacher at Brunswick High since 1998.
“He is what every leader should be,” said Ryan Lachance, who said he coached with Glover.
About a dozen current and former Brunswick coaches signed a letter supporting Glover, saying he stepped up to coach the freshman boys’ soccer program in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and helped to “mend the pain” after the high school football team’s season was canceled in 2021 over hazing.
“There was a group of student-athletes who loved football but couldn’t return to the ‘traditional’ football team because they no longer believed in its values,” the coaches wrote to the board. “To provide these students an outlet, Don, and other Brunswick faculty, created an 8 vs. 8 football team. These faculty members didn’t just coach these players but mentored them through the tumult. They mentored them to understand that athletics isn’t about wins and losses. … That athletics was about community and, most importantly, that the student-athletes mattered outside of the media maelstrom occurring.
“Don Glover is the person that Brunswick needs at this time to be athletic director. Don is a member of the community, inside the school and outside.”
Potenziano said the search process was exhaustive and involved three search committees comprising Brunswick School Department administration, the School Board, staff, teachers, coaches, parents and student-athletes. And community members gave input through an online form.
“This was a very thorough and thoughtful process,” Potenziano said. “We had several strong candidates, but Kaili rose to the top and impressed the search committee with her long list of success in athletics and academics, combined with an exceptional work ethic and interpersonal skills.”
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