As the 2024-25 high school sports season approaches, three new athletic directors in Franklin County are settling into their posts.

Glenn Sullivan is taking over at his alma mater, Frontier Regional, for Dave Sanschagrin, while in Northfield, Nick Adams will be replacing departed athletic director Brian Campbell at Pioneer Valley Regional.

At Turners Falls, Jen Luciano has the task of replacing longtime athletic director Adam Graves.

Sullivan — who graduated from Frontier in 2012 — said there’s plenty of excitement about getting to continue on the legacy left behind by past ADs.

Sullivan interned with former Redhawks athletic director Marty Sanderson in 2016, where he learned that being an athletic director was something he’d consider in the future. He’s also served as a baseball coach with Frontier. 

“I’m really excited,” Sullivan said. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started the internship with Marty but I enjoyed it. I learned a lot that semester. I was just thrown into it. It was a lot of ‘go do this, go set up for football, go do that.’ It was great experience and it turned me onto the idea of working in athletics and started me down the path. I didn’t know if it would happen here but I’m thrilled it did.”

Sullivan will take over an athletic program that has had plenty of success.

Frontier is coming off a season where its girls volleyball team won an 18th consecutive Western Mass. title and reached the MIAA Div. 4 semifinals, as well as a field hockey team that captured a Western Mass. title and reached the MIAA Div. 4 quarterfinals. 

Frontier’s boys soccer team (Round of 16), boys basketball (Round of 32), girls basketball (Round of 16), baseball (Round of 32), softball (Round of 16) and boys tennis (Round of 32) all reached the Div. 4 state tournament in their respective sports. 

Last fall the Frontier girls cross country team went unbeaten for the first time in program history while both its boys and girls spring track teams also went unbeaten during the regular season to win Intercounty League titles. 

“As a kid, I got to watch our sports programs go on state title runs,” Sullivan said. “Then, I got to play here as an athlete and now I’m back as a community member in this role. It’s fun to have been able to see Frontier athletics from every view point. Now, I get to give back and try to sustain the level of quality and success we’ve had here. We’re blessed to have such support from the four towns in our district.”

Having history with the school and previous relationships with coaches, Sullivan said he’s hoping to hit the ground running and continue the traditions set before him. 

"I’m lucky to have already known the coaches and the game administrators,” Sullivan said. “I’m familiar with them. I’m learning the ropes on the office side and all the behind the scenes stuff. I’m lucky to have people in the building and people out of the building to help me. Not a lot of people have former ADs they can call for advice.” 

Sullivan will be Frontier’s third athletic director in the last three years, and he hopes to bring stability to the position.

“For me personally, I’d love to see that,” Sullivan said. “The coaches and the community members are hoping for some stability and not having things change every year. This place has been lucky to have some great athletic directors. I got to see what Carl [Cyr] did well, what Marty did well, what Dave [Sanschagrin] did well. I want to formulate my own plan for how to do things by combining all those things, learning what didn’t go so well for them and making adjustments.”

Adams, who takes over at Pioneer, began working at the school last fall. Having graduated from Mahar in 2010, along with a year spent at Pioneer, Adams said he knows the area well and is happy to be back in western Mass. 

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Adams said. “There’s a lot to be excited about. I take pride in coming back to western Mass. I love western Mass. and feel it’s a special place. As kids you can’t wait to get out but I’m glad to be back. We want to show those central Mass. and eastern Mass. schools our athletic prowess out here.” 

Adams made an impact quickly upon arriving in Northfield. He is the Massachusetts director for the National High School Strength and Conditioning Association (NHSSCA) and thus led the effort to rebuild the weight room at the school. Thanks to his position as director, Adams was able to help bring in a brand new training facility. 

“When I came here in the summer of 2023, there was a totally open, decrepit space with old equipment and old phys ed stuff,” Adams said. “We found the funds to renovate it. NHSSCA looks at facilities around the state to renovate and we received it and now have a state of the art facility.”

While a small school in terms of numbers, the Panthers produce in athletics. The new training center will only help the development of those athletes.  

The Pioneer boys basketball team reached the MIAA Div. 5 final four while the Panthers baseball team reached its third straight MIAA Div. 5 semifinals. The boys soccer team (preliminary round), girls soccer team (preliminary round), volleyball team (preliminary round) and girls basketball team (Round of 16) all made it to the state tournament.

“We want to keep it going,” Adams said. “Pioneer has a rich athletic history. I remember competing against them and, at the time, Mahar was one of the bigger schools but we were always taking losses to Pioneer. That rich history sticks. You see the trophies, you hear the community talk about it, they’re prideful about their teams. I want to help them live up to that expectation.” 

Adams said he hopes to encourage all the school’s athletes in hopes of bringing the best out of them. 

“I want to add positively to the student experience here at Pioneer,” Adams said. “I want to be able to add value to them and be everyone’s number one cheerleader.” 

Luciano is very familiar with how things work in the Powertown. 

After all, she’s been working in the district for the last 19 years, currently serving as Turners Falls’ Dean of Students. Luciano has also helped coach the Thunder softball team for years. 

“I’m very familiar with the school,” Luciano said. “I do have a clue on how the athletic department works from a coach’s perspective. Now, I’m learning it from the athletic director perspective. When I can be around kids playing sports — I went to almost every game anyway — and when I can celebrate our success here on the field and on the court, that’s what I’m most excited about. I’m excited about this new challenge.” 

Luciano comes on board after a year of winning at Turners Falls. 

Gary Mullins and the softball program captured their 11st state championship this past spring, adding to a state record. In the fall, the Turners volleyball team reached the MIAA Div. 5 semifinals and captured its first ever western Mass. championship. The Thunder baseball team captured a league title for the first time in over 25 years.

The Thunder boys soccer team made it to the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament in its first year back as a program while the Turners boys tennis team qualified for the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament. 

“We have tremendous coaches that come back every year, which is a nice thing,” Luciano said. “We only had to hire one new coach this fall and that was because our golf coach retired. It’s nice to know people are coming back and that they’re people who care and put a lot of time into it.”

While Graves was the athletic director, he started the Athletic Leadership Council at Turners, something Luciano said she will continue doing, as well as supporting many of the volunteer efforts that Graves implemented. 

“I definitely want to carry on what Adam started with our Athletic Leadership Council,” Luciano said. “We’ll continue helping Adam and [school resource officer] Dan Miner with their Helping Hands program. I want to make sure we support that and continue giving our athletes ways to give back to the community.”