New Leadership Coming to Athletics Department

The upcoming retirement of Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Gary Schnell created two openings in the Athletic Department, which have now been filled:

St. Albans’ next athletic director will be Daniel J. Ryan, our associate athletic director since 2013, head hockey coach since 2005, and manager and later director of capital projects from 2005 to 2019, throughout the renovation of the athletic fields and construction of Marriott Hall. Dan will step down as hockey coach and assume his new role as athletic director on July 1, 2021.

In a letter announcing Coach Ryan’s appointment, Headmaster Robinson wrote: “A man of great integrity, Dan, sees teamwork, individual sacrifice, integrity, sportsmanship, and the development of the whole athlete as foundational to our program. As Dan will tell you, the fields aren’t just an extension of our classroom; they are our largest classroom, a place where every boy is challenged physically, intellectually, and emotionally, every year at St. Albans.”

Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Football Coach Orion Martin will be St. Albans’ next head football coach. Martin came to St. Albans in 2017 from Virginia’s Martinsville High School, where transformed the football program and was named Piedmont District Coach of the Year and Conference 28 Coach of the Year. Noted Headmaster Robinson in a letter about Coach Martin’s appointment: “Besides being a brilliant football strategist, play caller, and motivator, Orion is also deeply committed to the principle that our football program is an extension of our school’s mission and values … He has crafted a compelling year-by-year plan to grow and strengthen our program and our football players, from C Form to varsity … I look forward with great anticipation to watching the program flourish under his leadership.” Coach Martin will also step into his new position on July 1, 2021.