SOUTH PORTLAND – An opportunity to be the athletic director at his alma mater and in the city where he lives were key reasons for Todd Livingston to leave his job as Falmouth High athletic director to do the same job at South Portland.

Livingston, 40, received approval from the South Portland School Board last week and will begin his duties at South Portland on Oct. 17. Livingston said the South Portland position was the only one he would leave Falmouth for.

“I told the interviewing committee that I’m not unhappy at Falmouth,” said Livingston.

“Falmouth is a great place to work and the facilities are wonderful. But I wanted to come home. I see myself spending the rest of my career at South Portland. I live there and my children are in the school system. I’m looking forward to it. It’s very exciting,” he said.

Livingston is in his fifth year at Falmouth. Prior to that, he was an assistant athletic director at Greely for four years. Livingston is a graduate of South Portland High and the University of Maine. He played soccer, basketball and baseball at South Portland and baseball at Maine where he was an infielder. He has been a head baseball coach at Massabesic and Cheverus and an assistant coach at Greely.

Livingston said Falmouth is looking for an in-house candidate to fill the position for the rest of the school year. Livingston replaces former South Portland athletic director Kevin Woodhouse, who left to teach math at Scarborough High.

Livingston was involved in the construction of Falmouth’s stadium turf field and feels that experience will be invaluable as South Portland embarks on a construction project to expand the high school. The construction will take away the school’s tennis courts and field hockey field and will have some impact on Beal Gym, although it’s anticipated the work will be finished prior to the 2012-2013 basketball season, said Livingston.

When fields and teams get uprooted. Livingston said you have to get creative in finding fields and other places for teams to practice.

“At Falmouth, we had a track team with no track,” he said.

One thing Livingston will miss at Falmouth is having the majority of high school teams and middle school sports on campus. South Portland’s fall and spring sports teams use the fields at the high school and also at Wainwright Field, a large area with several fields on outer Highland Ave. He also said that the South Portland Community Center, across the street from the school, will be available during school construction.

“I know what to expect going in,” he said.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH

 

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