When he was a dean of students in Colorado, Winthrop athletic director Eric Turner oversaw the school’s athletic director. From that perspective, the job seemed pretty simple.

“I remember bugging my AD about stuff I thought we needed to do, and I realize now that those are items you put way down on your to-do list, because you’re just so busy trying to keep up with the brush fires that you’ve got to put out every day,” he said.

In late June, Turner will be stepping down from what he called the most difficult administrative position he’s held to spend more time with his family, which includes two young sons. In four years at Winthrop, he has learned the demands the position puts on one’s time.

“It’s hard because my oldest is involved in youth hockey, soccer and youth baseball and days like today, I’m getting done at seven o’clock and it’s tough to do much with him if you’re doing that every day,” he said.

Turner will be returning to Kents Hill School, where he taught and coached for nine years after graduating from Colby College, to teach English and coach hockey and baseball.

Before leaving Winthrop, he will have to hire new boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball coaches. He expects interviews for both positions to begin early next week and have the vacancies filled by the end of the month.

“Eric has done a super job here,” varsity baseball coach Marc Fortin said. “I think he has been a student-athlete-oriented athletic director. He likes kids and he likes to communicate with kids. I’m sorry to see him go.”

“The kids have been great. I’ve really liked working with them and enjoyed my peers in both the teaching and the coaching ranks,” Turner said. “The Mountain Valley Conference ADs are a great group of guys.”

Turner said it has been frustrating to have economic constraints play an increasing role in athletics, even though community support at Winthrop has been very good..

“My feeling about public school is that you want to do the best you can to give all the kids a chance to play and enjoy the sports, so you’ve got to try to keep the costs down for those kids. It’s just getting really tough, with budgets getting slashed the way they have been, to put on a quality sports program for kids without expecting them and their parents to come up with all this money through fund-raising or direct payment.”

Another sign of those difficulties has sprung up as the school and town of Winthrop are trying to figure out how to keep the school fields mowed, a dilemma that may lead to Turner having to do a little grass cutting before he leaves.

Besides the growing economic uncertainty, there are some staff-related questions on the horizon at Winthrop, where a new superintendent and principal will be hired for the next school year. Turner said he hopes that, plus the potential for school consolidation, doesn’t add to the next AD’s responsibilities.

“I’m hoping they’ll replace my position with someone who is a straight-up athletic director and can dedicate the time that he needs or she needs to keep the program moving in a positive direction,” he said. “I’m pretty confident that the school board takes athletics seriously and wants to see the programs continue to succeed.”