Sitting in his office at 9 a.m., new athletic director Steve Cass is busy typing away on his computer, confirming sport schedules for the next day. Even though he’ll be done with this task within an hour, his day has just begun. Once the clock hits 10, parents, coaches and students alike will be coming into his office to talk about various sports issues that they have. After all these meetings, he will then have to make sure all the fields and equipment are ready for the afternoon’s games.

While this is Cass’s first year at Wayland, he is by no means a stranger to sports or to the role of athletic director. A Duxbury, Massachusetts native, Cass played soccer, basketball and tennis for his high school before continuing to play soccer at Yale University.

“My father was a teacher and coach at Duxbury High School,” Cass said. “So that’s what really got me into sports.”

After graduating from Yale with a degree in sociology and economics, Cass proceeded to study athletic administration at Ohio State University, where he earned his MBA in that field. Cass has also worked in schools in Egypt, as well as Connecticut, Florida and Georgia.

Cass learned about Wayland from one of his father’s classmates, former athletic director Rick Moyer.

“I worked down South, but I missed New England,” Cass said. “I think in the South, the balance between academics and athletics isn’t where it should be. Having well-rounded, educated individuals who also like to play sports is the environment I’ve always been used to.”

One of Cass’s biggest goals is for all student athletes to have a positive experience, whether their teams win a state championship or don’t make the tournament at all.

“I work with the coach and try to structure things sometimes six months in advance of the season to look at ways to make it more successful,” Cass said. “At the end of the season, if all the athletes can say they had a good time, even if they didn’t win a lot, then that’s success.”

Cass knows that this includes a lot of work on his part during the season as well. He makes it a priority to have strong coaches and to support them.

“Certainly I’m not going to have a big role in helping a team win a championship,” Cass said. “My job is to make the coaches’ jobs as easy as possible by doing the little things, so they can focus on teaching the athletes.”

Improving various athletic facilities on campus is also one of Cass’s priorities.

“We have some nice facilities but also some that can use work,” Cass said. “We have good, raw material and space, and we’re looking at ways to make the spaces nicer and to turn them into fields the town can be proud of.”

While the job of being athletic director may be busy or tedious at times, seeing the success and satisfaction that students have when they go to the field or court each day makes it worth it for Cass.

“There are hundreds of little jobs that I do, and none of them are great by themselves, but the end result is a really rewarding and satisfying job,” Cass said.

In addition, Cass hopes that students not only get to meet and spend time with him, but that they also get to meet his friend.

“I have a little dog in a wheelchair,” Cass said. “Her name’s Elsa and she’s friendly, so say hi to her when you can.”