Happy Homecoming for New Somerville High School Athletic Director

SOMERVILLE, MA — When Stanley Vieira accepted the Director of Athletics job at Arlington High last year he said he hoped it would be a place he would stay for a very long time. But when the Somerville High alumnus, who grew up on Cedar Street where his parents still live, had the chance to come back to his alma mater, it was one he simply could not refuse.

"I know it sounds corny, but it's hard to say no to coming home," Vieira said as he began preparation for the upcoming school year on Thursday. "My mom has been here her whole life. My dad has been here since the 60's. As a kid growing up here, I would have never expected I would ever get the AD's job. At this point of my career, I thought if I passed on it now I might never get this opportunity again."

The 1987 graduate returns to Somerville High at a time of upheaval with the New Somerville High Building Project construction a little more than halfway completed and set for a Sept. 2020 opening. Because of the new roof being installed in the fieldhouse, the basketball teams will be playing their games at Bunker Hill Community College this winter. A new turf field is expected to be finished at Foss Park in East Somerville next year, the new high school will have a smaller turf field with lights on campus at the completion of the high school building process, and Vieira has high hopes for a plan to build a turf field at Conway Park next to Somerville Rink.

"This next year is going to be crazy," Vieira allowed. "But I knew what to expect coming in. It's going to be a lot of juggling. But in a year or two — when all of the facilities are up and running —it will be an amazing situation."

Vieira inherits a revamped Greater Boston League — with Medford and Revere re-entering the GBL after leaving for the Northeastern Conference over the past decade — and a major league-wide initiative to begin middle school travel sports.

"The middle school teams are really going to enhance what we are doing at the high school," he said. "We are excited to have more teachers involved with coaching at that level as well. It's always great to have coaches who are an invested, accessible resource to athletes at any level. This is going to infuse a whole lot of excitement and participation."

Vieira said he is also focused on professional development for coaches so that they are all up to date on current best practices, and wants to make sure that every Somerville High student who wants to play a sport is eligible to do so through academic support and peer tutoring.

"We have to do everything we need to do to keep students on the field," he said. "Having our athletes get done what they need to get done in the classroom is essential for me."

He added that he is also looking to have Somerville High athletes repay the investment that the school and city has put into them by giving back to the community.

"One thing we did in Arlington that I would like to see here is more of a commitment to community service," Vieira said. "It was mandatory in Arlington. Here it's not. But we want to put an emphasis on giving back to the community. It doesn't start and stop on the field. We want them to think of themselves as part of something bigger."