August 10, 2006 Issue                                       

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Springside names interim athletic director
by TOM UTESCHER

Debbie Maine

Springside School’s rapidly evolving athletic program will have new leadership for the coming academic year, as last month the local school appointed Wyndmoor resident Debbie Maine Interim Athletic Director.

The Lions are launching a cross country team this fall, and there is a new head coach for the field hockey squad. This winter a swimming team will make its debut, and there will be a new basketball coach, as well. For the latter sport, Springside has brought in four very talented players who have the ability to completely transform the school’s hoops program. Maine will also be the first Springside A.D. to start the academic year in the Lions’ impressive new field house, which opened at the end of the winter season in early 2006.

To many in the school community, Maine is best known as the mother of the preeminent athlete of Springside’s Class of 2006. Emery Maine, a former national junior squash team player, was recognized as the outstanding athlete in the Girls Inter-Ac League last year, and was recruited to play lacrosse at Princeton.

Debbie Maine and her husband Jordie also attended Princeton, both graduating in 1983. Jordie, a Chestnut Hill Academy alum, played football for the Tigers, while Debbie, originally from Long Island, played squash as a freshman and then played lacrosse for the next three years. She was captain of the lacrosse team as a senior, when she received the Princeton Field Sports Award.

Maine remains an active runner, golfer and general fitness devotee, and has done a lot of work behind the scenes on behalf of Springside and its sports program. She’s served on the athletic advisory board at the school, and chaired the Homecoming committee several times. For two years in the late 1980’s, she coached the tennis team at Springside, and the boys’ squash team at Germantown Friends School.

“I’ve kept a hand in it in various ways,” said Maine, who also helped coach Springside middle schoolers in field hockey and squash for a time.

Her younger daughter, Libbie, is going into the seventh grade at Springside, and her son Jack will be an eighth grader at CHA.

Earlier this summer, Springside administrators found themselves looking to fill the position of athletic director at short notice.

“They were in need, and I said I wanted to help in any way I could,” Maine related. “They wanted to conduct a national search to find a really solid person for the job. I felt it was important for the school to find the right candidate, and if an interim A.D. allowed them the time that was necessary, I was going to jump in.”

She’d already developed some ideas about the direction that Springside sports should take.

“From a parent’s perspective,” she explained. “I’d felt that the athletic program could emphasize a little more that winning and being competitive is a kind of life skill, and not something to be afraid of and run away from. I thought the culture of the school squelched the drive to excel a little bit. Winning isn’t everything, but being prepared to win, learning how to win, and being excited about the chance to compete can be a great thing.”

For some time, the Lions have underperformed their peers in the Girls Inter-Ac League in a number of areas. Now with a new athletic facility, new teams in the offing, and some changes in the coaching staff, the school seems poised to take a significant step forward.

“It’s great to be coming in at a time when there’s a lot going on in Springside athletics, and when the school really wants to take a fresh look at what it takes to become more successful,” Maine observed. “That could involve a number of things; attracting good student athletes, better coaching, more discipline and better conditioning, and a renewed commitment from everyone involved, including the girls themselves.”

Right now, the interim A.D. isn’t sure if she’ll apply to the committee that will search for someone to fill the post permanently. She prefers to focus on the tasks immediately at hand.

“I’d like to think I can bring some new ideas, along with emphasizing the basic things you need to do to be successful,” she said. “I hope I can be a good role model and motivate the girls, and help lay the foundation for the future of the athletic program, whether it’s with me remaining on in this position, or with somebody new.”