SAUGUS — The fall sports season is officially back in action, and first-year Saugus Athletic Director Matt Serino said he’s enjoying his time as a Sachem.
Serino is well-known in Saugus as he helped raise two state championships in hockey during his time as a student-athlete. His father, Christie, was an accomplished three-sport athlete in town, coached hockey for more than 30 years, and was a Saugus High Hall-of-Famer.
“It’s been going great,” said Serino, former Winthrop High AD. “You can see the hard work that our kids put in and the coaches put in through the offseason. It’s starting to come to fruition.”
If you’ve been to a Saugus sporting event over the past two weeks, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Serino hanging out on the sideline. Truth be told, he’s taking it all in, watching his student-athletes achieve their goals.
“As an athletic director, you grow and appreciate all of the sports. I’m obviously a hockey guy; I grew up playing hockey. But since I’ve been in this role, I have enjoyed watching every sport,” he said. “I don’t have a favorite sport because you get that joy of seeing these kids during the day talk about the game, and then, you go and watch them play and you get to see the enjoyment that these kids have playing a sport every day.”
When asked about how his first few months have been, Serino was quick to give credit to administrative assistant Marybeth Bertrand.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start. I have an amazing athletic administrative assistant here in Marybeth Bertrand, who’s just incredible. She has really just taken the time to show me the ropes and help me and help this transition,” Serino said. “Who knows how stressed I would be if she weren’t here and I couldn’t have asked for better help than her.”
“Everyone has been super supportive – from the superintendent down to the teachers,” Serino said. “The kids have been fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for a better start.”
His main goal in year one is to establish a relationship with his student-athletes, as he knows they’re the key to the entire operation.
“I, first, have to have the trust and respect of the kids. That’s really my number one goal: building relationships with the athletes,” Serino said. “The seniors are the start because a lot of them are leaders and captains, so I want to build relationships with them because they are my eyes and ears. It goes all the way down to the 6th graders since we’re a 6-12 school. I want everyone to be familiar with me. I want them to be comfortable here, and want to stay here.”
Come Friday, Serino will have attended at least one of every sports team’s games. He will make the trip to Cambridge when the Sachems open up their football season against Cambridge Rindge & Latin at 7 p.m.
“I’ll be like the many of us trying to find a parking spot,” Serino said.
