While meeting with Mr. Francis, we got to take a look into what it is like to be in the life of an athletic director at Somerset Berkley Regional High School. We took a further look into his main goals for the school and what he would like to do in order to make everything as functional as possible for students. We asked him a few questions regarding his goals, and what the important parts of being the athletic director are to further understand what Mr. Francis does during a typical day of work. 

“What is your main goal to achieve by being the athletic director here at SBRHS?” He responded with saying how he does his best to provide an athletic program that meets the needs of all the students. He stated how “kids enjoy sports” and he wants to get them as involved as possible.

“What are the most important parts of being an athletic director?” His response was that the most important thing, in his mind, is being well organized. He also stated that “a lot of behind the scenes things occur, that other people don’t see.” Mr. Francis explained that he needs to be organized to keep things in order and get them done properly.

To get to know Mr. Francis better, we asked him a few questions about his past career in the sports industry. As a kid, Mr. Francis played soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, and track. Since he always loved sports growing up, after graduating from college, he decided it might be fun to try a sports career. As a firm believer of loving what you do, Mr. Francis said “I need to be passionate about what I do.” Mr. Francis went to Archbishop Williams, a Catholic school in Braintree, where the athletic director really inspired him. Before coming to SBRHS, Mr. Francis worked as a software consultant, then with financial services, then as a teacher at Archbishop Williams (where he worked for six years), and finally as the athletic director at Archbishop Williams. Although Mr. Francis refused to answer what his favorite sport was (saying he liked them all), Larry Bird, a former Boston Celtics player, was his idol growing up.  Mr. Francis believes that in order to succeed in sports, you must succeed in school, too. At one point you won’t be able to play sports anymore so you must be a well-rounded student.

We had thought of some questions and concerns that other students might want to know or hear his thoughts about. 

“When will the new athletic fields (in front of the building) be ready to use?” He informed us that the athletic fields in the front of the building will be fully accessible and functional, around the time of fall in 2017. They will consist of soccer fields for the most part, where the team will host games and practices. Most of the other teams will be able to host practices on the fields when not in use by primary teams, such as soccer.

One question we asked Mr. Francis was regarding the recent article in The Breeze.

“Have you seen the recent article in the Breeze, regarding the turf time? If so how do you feel about it?” He hadn’t seen the article yet so we pulled it up to show him what had been written. Mr. Francis responded by saying he didn’t make the schedule for the turf, but next year he will most likely, and hopes, to be a part of the decision making. He also informed us that practices and games will still take place at North Elementary and Pottersville. He stated that, “more practices and games will be able to take place on the turf when we can, and when it is available.” He also stated that “we can do a better job of exposure to the teams on the turf in the future”.

We thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Mr. Francis, the athletic director, and it is appreciated of him to have let us interview him on all that he does for Somerset Berkley Regional High School.