Outgoing Director of Athletics Mr. Ned Gallagher plans to spend more time teaching, coaching, and advising in the 2017-2018 school year.
Many Choate students know him through his weekly announcements during school meeting, characterized by his sensational jokes, but Mr. Ned Gallagher is much more than just a witty mind and smiling face. For the past 21 years, Mr. Gallagher has contributed in many ways to Choate, from teaching to coaching to advising. But he is perhaps most widely recognized for directing Choate athletics, notoriously and consistently one of the most time-consuming and intense jobs on campus. On top of this, some would consider it a thankless job, as many Choate students do not realize the effort that goes into scheduling meets, ensuring there are buses for away games, getting (and keeping track of) uniforms for every level of each sport, going to New England Prepratory School Athletic Council and Founders League meetings, making sure there are referees, and following through on a multitude of other duties. Soon, however, some of Mr. Gallagher’s duties will lighten as he will be stepping down from the position of Athletic Director at the end of this school year — following 21 years of being one of the best in the prep school league.
In terms of the decision to step away, Mr. Gallagher said that “nothing in particular” prompted him to leave. He elaborated, saying, “To be honest, it’s been something that I’ve talked about with the Headmaster and the Dean of Faculty for a few years now, and articulating my desire to go back to teach full time.” Mr. Gallagher’s tenure as AD certainly was a factor as well. He said that after 21 years, “I’m ready to go back to what I started doing, which is teaching, coaching, and advising.” Furthermore, Mr. Gallagher figures that it is time to “let someone else take a whack at it. I’ve sort of done the things that I’ve set out to do, and really it’s just good for career growth to mix it up.” Recognizing that in 21 years he really has accomplished his goals, he figures that it is “time for a change” for the athletic administration.
Mr. Gallagher will remain the Athletic Director until the end of the school year, with what he termed a “passing of the baton” occurring before fall term of 2017. “There’ll be a process, which is starting now, where the administration will figure out who they choose to appoint.” However, once this figurative baton has been passed, Mr. Gallagher is looking to really let the new Athletic Director go in his or her own direction, while he will shift towards more of a role in coaching within athletics. In terms of his involvement with the athletic department as an entity, he said, “I think that when you step out of a position like this where I’ve been associated with it for so long, it’s important to give whoever the successor is their space to do what he or she is going to do. I’ll be happy to be a resource if they have questions or they want advice, but I’m not going to be second guessing them.”
In reflecting on his time as Athletic Director, Mr. Gallagher commented that getting to know so many incredible people from various New England prep schools has been one of the most enjoyable parts of his job, “When I started, I assumed that my relationship with Athletic Directors at other schools would be mostly competitive, but it turns out that it is anything but: it’s much more cooperative and collegial because they’re dealing with the same sets of problems that I am.” Additionally, Mr. Gallagher said that the experience of being able to work with coaches and kids from around Choate has been fun. He also commented on the uniqueness of the position, saying, “You’re dealing with pretty much every part of the school, from admissions to facilities to the college office to development to communications, everything is involved.” Finally, addressing perhaps his biggest and most significant achievement, Mr. Gallagher said that he took a lot of satisfaction in bringing together the Eight Schools League, an association created officially in 2006 and coordinated mostly by him. Member schools include Choate, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Lawrenceville, NMH, Andover, Exeter, and St. Paul’s. The association has received great feedback, even being dubbed “A Young Ivy League.” Its creation is just a small part of Gallagher’s tremendous legacy as Choate’s athletic director.
Photos courtesy of Judy Donald / The Archives
