News from May 2006:

Proctor resigns as Strasburg AD

Longtime football, track coach will keep those posts

By Michael Petre
(Daily Sports Reporter)

STRASBURG — Glenn Proctor has been the face of Strasburg athletics for the past 42 years. That much won't be changing any time soon.

But the Rams' longtime athletic director, football coach and track coach is ready to lessen the load, at least a little. Last Friday, Proctor turned in his letter of resignation as athletic director, effective at the end of the school year.

After so much time juggling pretty much everything pertaining to Strasburg sports, Proctor, 65, realized it was time to narrow his focus.

"I've been thinking about it for some time," he said in his office Tuesday afternoon. "It got to the point where it's real hard to do all the jobs as well as I would like to. I feel that, somewhere along the way, something gets short-changed a little bit here and there."

Deciding which duty to drop wasn't difficult. Still enjoying the laid-back attitude of track and field, Proctor wasn't compelled to leave that sport behind. As for football, the Rams have gone 15-15 in the past three regular seasons, a record he is unwilling to let spoil the end of his coaching career.

"I'm not going to take that to my grave," he grinned. "I'm just too competitive to end on that kind of a note."

That left his athletic director duties, a job he has held since he arrived at Strasburg for the 1964-65 school year and one he has shared with assistant AD Matt Hiserman in recent years. Deeming it "the sombrero" of the many hats he had to wear, Proctor's preferred route became clear.

"I knew I had to shed something," he said. "It seemed like that was the appropriate course to follow."

With a career football record of 293-159-7, Proctor is a season or two away from reaching 300 wins. He said reaching that milestone is not a motivation to remain as coach but admitted there are others who might disagree.

"That's probably more important to the people in our community and former players than it is to me," he said. "A lot of people may say that that would be my motivation or my impetus for returning, but I can genuinely and sincerely say that that is not the reason."

Shenandoah County Public School posted the opening on its Web site Monday. It took just hours for a flood of electronic greetings to hit Proctor's e-mail inbox, a likely reaction for a coach named to the Virginia High School League’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

"He’s a legend in the business and obviously very well-respected all over the state of Virginia," said Strasburg boys basketball coach Millson French, who has coached under Proctor since 1971. "He also is the kind of athletic director who counseled you but gave you your lead and let you go. He didn’t keep you from being who you were."

French said Proctor was focused on "the total program" — building all sports to the level they deserved as opposed to concentrating on higher-profile activities.

"I think that's the greatest compliment you can give him," French said. "I think it's a real void to fill. His work in the [school] building, community relations and all that — that's immeasurable."

Strasburg principal Mike Dorman said he could not comment on the opening Tuesday. That Hiserman has assumed many of the duties of athletic director in recent years — including handling all nondistrict scheduling this season — seems to make him an early front-runner.

While Proctor would not comment directly on the search for his replacement, he was positive about Hiserman’s work to this point.

"He's done everything that he could humanly do," he said. "You never know what the talent pool will be like; it's hard to say. But I know that he’s been well-prepared. I honestly think that we wouldn't miss a beat."

Hiserman did not return repeated messages requesting comment Tuesday. Ironically, his office adjacent to Strasburg’s gym was budgeted for the school's new athletic trainer. Now he might just move down the hall to Proctor's spacious domain.

The day when Proctor must leave that room will be a sentimental one, he said. Although he's far from removing himself from the Strasburg athletic landscape altogether, simply cleaning out the files and knickknacks scattered throughout his busy office will bring a rush of memories.

"I'll have to take my pictures and all that stuff off the wall and try to find somewhere else to put them," he said. "There will be a little bit of sentimentality -- not regret, not remorse. But I’ll have to find somewhere to kind of hang my hat and put my stuff."