Student Athletes Honor Mrs. Conaty
Coaches and staff reunite with Girouard McCann to celebrate the retirement of a fellow colleague.
October 8, 2017
On Monday October 2nd, 2017, the sports teams that represent Hingham High School marched onto the field in honor of Mrs. Conaty’s final day as HHS’s athletic director before her retirement. All together, every sports team was invited to walk onto the field before the game to celebrate Mrs. Conaty’s long, successful career at Hingham High. The big event happened to be on her birthday, which added to the surprise. The entire crowd was welcoming and thankful for her accomplishments.
During her time at HHS, Margaret Conaty was named Athletic Director of the Year by the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Athletic Directors Association in 2014, helped the girls varsity soccer team win three state championships, and watched other teams grow and win. Students have been influenced greatly by Conaty as their amazing role-model.
Ellie Holler, a senior, plays three varsity sports and is extremely sad to see her go. At the ceremony she said, “She’s always been a huge supporter of our basketball program. She played college basketball and is always there at the games giving me and the other girls pointers on what we can do to improve our game.”
Through the years, Conaty has provided the leadership needed to move a variety of sports teams up in their divisions. She has shown fairness to teams at all different levels, from state champions like the soccer team all the way to the growing softball program. She worked really hard last season to supply the softball team with the equipment it needed.
As senior Sarah Decola recalls, “Mrs Conaty really helped make my first year playing softball enjoyable. She really showed her dedication and really put effort forth with the program.”
So as everyone said farewell to the beloved AD, the last soccer game of her career ended with a victory. The Hingham Harborwomen won an exciting battle against Plymouth South 2-0. Caroline Harkins, a senior, scored the first goal with an assist by Lilly Reale who later scored the second goal.
After the exciting game came to a close, everyone said their farewells to Mrs. Conaty. Alex Diedrich, a senior on the football team, reflected on her legacy, “During the time that I have known Ms. Conaty, she has had a tremendous impact on the football team. She has always believed in us, provided her support, and given us the things we needed to succeed as a team. She has also always been our biggest fan, in the stand of our games cheering us on. We are all very thankful for her and wish her a happy retirement.”
