Only five minutes separate Bill Devin’s house from Lynn Classical High School. Or, you could say, his second home.
The kid from West Lynn, and Classical’s athletic director, has stepped down after 17 years.
“We’ve had a lot of success because of the way the players play, and the way coaches coach,” said Devin, a former three-sport athlete (golf, hockey, baseball) who graduated Classical in 1982. “I’m going to miss the job very much. I plan on going to a lot of games next year, but I’m not going to have to worry if it’s raining or not.”
As of late, those closest to Devin started to ask, “How much time do you think you have left?”
“I don’t want to be corny, but I think you just know,” he said. “As for what’s next, I don’t really know yet, but I just felt it was time.”
But his Rams’ pride isn’t going anywhere.
“On my phone messages, at the bottom, it says, ‘As always, go Rams,’” Devin said. “I will forever be a Ram supporter.”
Devin was hired by then-Principal Warren White Jr. in 2007 – “He gave me the opportunity” – and, from there, had an “incredible” mentor in Dick Ruth.
“I was taking over for him, who was there for 19 years. He was instrumental in mentoring me. The first year was very difficult because you don’t know the way things work,” Devin said. “That first year, he answered an awful lot of questions. He’s a class act. I don’t have enough good things to say about him. He stayed on to do the clock for the next 15 years at Classical.”
Devin also received help from Jerry Waldron, a former guidance counselor at Breed Middle School who approached Devin about pursuing a career in education.
“I never really thought about it,” Devin said. “He helped me get a job at Breed, teaching English. He later wrote me a recommendation for the athletic director’s position at Classical. He was a very important figure in my professional life and none of this would’ve happened for me.”
From that point on, memories poured in like a touchdown pass from Brian Vaughan Jr. to John Nasky.
Devin’s all-time favorite game was played on Thanksgiving Day in 2016, when Marcus Rivera ran down the right sideline for an 83-yard touchdown in Classical’s time-expiring, 21-20 win over traditional archrival Lynn English.
“What were the chances? I will never forget it. The play made it to ESPN’s top-10,” Devin said. “There’s nothing that can beat that. … It was something out of a storybook. You can ask anyone there that day.”
To be successful as an AD, Devin – who spent years teaching three classes, to boot – stresses the importance of time.
“If I had a basketball game at 8 p.m., I’d still have a gym class I’d have to be at by 8 a.m.,” he said. “If you’re going to do this job right, you’ve got to put the time in.”
That said, Devin credits a long list of people who have been by his side, starting with his wife, Lynne.
In other words, “an absolute rock.”
“She’s a saint. I did all of this with her raising five kids (Kyle, Brandon, Sean, Matthew, Jocelyn). It was difficult, at times, because I was out of the house a lot the last 17 years. We gave up a lot of vacations [and] a lot of weekends just to get things done. … I couldn’t have done this without her and she was always there for me.”
Also there for him were his coaches. Devin highlighted Brian Vaughan Sr. (football), Jack Morrison (golf), Denise Silva (swimming), Chris LeBlanc (volleyball), Tom Sawyer (girls basketball), and Leon Elwell (baseball).
“I think that these coaches are the best in the state at what they do,” Devin said. “Our teams have done well in the GBL (Greater Boston League). Our baseball team was 10-10, our softball team was 10-10, our boys basketball team was 11-9, and our football team was 6-5. I can’t find any better examples of parity than that. I think in the future, next year, we’re going to have a lot of strong teams.”
Then, there was his “amazing” support staff, including Joe Gunning, Rob Smith, Teddy Gaudreault, Arnie Ellis, Laura Durant, John Hoffman (who has called more than 3,000 games), Assistant AD Cathy Ellis, and Athletic Trainer Jon Crocker.
“You can’t do this by yourself. You need people who are going to do the clock, work the gate, and so forth,” Devin said. “I couldn’t have done any of this without them.”
He also “worked for three principals who valued educational athletics” in White, Gene Constantino, and Amy Dunn, and alongside Lynn Tech and Lynn English ADs Adolph Graciale and Dick Newton, respectively.
“Adolph is doing a super job at Lynn Tech,” Devin said. “We (Newton) don’t always see eye-to-eye on things, but we’ve become really, really good friends. We talk, just about, every day, and when we have GBL meetings, we always drive together.”
Lastly, Devin did it all for his student-athletes.
“The kids at Classical – they love to compete. They’re super tough, they’re gritty, and they’re always up for a challenge,” he said. “The thing I’m most proud of is that our teams are consistently taking part in state tournaments.”
But now, Devin flips to the next chapter of his life. He looks forward to spending time with family, traveling, catching up on some reading, and working on projects around the house.
“I promised my wife that we could take a vacation in which I wouldn’t bring my cell phone… I think I can finally do that,” Devin said. “I want to be a part of my kids’ events and help them out alongside their professional careers. I’m not going anywhere.”
