SPM gets new athletic director

By William T. Clew

Peter M. Jones Jr., of Marlborough, the new athletic director at St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic High School, is following in the footsteps of Rich Riley, his former freshman basketball coach at Marlborough High School.
Mr. Riley, who retired as SPM athletic director in June, after two-years in the job, recommended that Mr. Jones succeed him.
Mr. Riley worked in the Marlborough school system for 35 years, where at various times he was teacher, coach, assistant principal and athletic director. When he retired in 2010 from Marlborough he took the athletic director position at SPM and made a two-year commitment.
Mr. Jones graduated in 2003 from Marlborough High School, where he played basketball and soccer. He attended Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Conn., and graduated in 2007 with a degree in communications.
He worked for the Metro West Daily News in Framingham for a year, covering high school sports, he said. Then Mr. Riley hired him as an assistant basketball coach at Marlborough. He also worked as a substitute teacher.
After a year he moved to West Boylston High School where he served as athletic director from 2009 to the end of the school year this year. Then, with the backing and encouragement of Mr. Riley, he applied for the job at SPM and was hired.
He worked with Mr. Riley for a couple of weeks in June, he said, and met the coaches of all the athletic teams. His first official day at SPM was Aug. 20.
He said he sees the job as a challenge and a good fit. SPM has more athletic programs and student-athletes than West Boylston does, and the level of competition is a bit higher.
So far this summer, he said, he has been doing paper work, organizing supplies and working on the athletic fields. The football field needs more work, so the SPM football team will play its home games this season at Anna Maria College.
Mr. Jones said the players are looking forward to playing Saturday nights under the lights at AMC.
He said SPM also will host the first Bishop Daniel Reilly basketball tournament at AMC this season. It will be the inaugural Bishop Daniel Reilly basketball tournament. It will include teams from SPM,  St. Bernard’s of Fitchburg, and Marlborough and Shrewsbury high schools.
The school’s fall athletic competitions will start Sept. 5.
“I’m really looking forward to watching the kids compete,” he said.