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Highland Park public schools' new athletic director has high aspirations for his programs. Craig Girvan wants to win the NJSIAA ShopRite Cup.

“Over the past few years, the state has given out this award to the athletic department with the best postseason tournament results in each group,” Girvan said. “I think that should be the ultimate goal. While we want our kids to enjoy sports and learn a lot, I think this recognition would be excellent for Highland Park.” Girvan officially took the administrative reins of the Owls’ programs in July, after longtime athletic director Bob Thomas retired following four decades in the district.

“Bob has been a tremendous mentor for me and showed me the ropes,” Girvan said. “He taught me the scheduling programs for officials, buses and games, our phone system and did a thorough job in getting me prepared.”

The newly-minted athletic director grew up in a small town called Clarion, PA (about 100 miles from Pittsburgh) that is actually smaller than HP in both size and population. He was a three-sport athlete at Clarion High School in the late 1980s before taking a wrestling scholarship at Duke University. There, he earned his degree in history before returning to the Keystone State to get his Master’s in Education at Pittsburgh.

“Athletics has always been a huge part of my life, but I love teaching too,” said Girvan, who will hold onto his positions as HPHS wrestling coach and U.S. History/Government teacher. “After I got past the whole FBI, CIA phase, I always knew I wanted to get into teaching like my dad who’s a university professor.”

Following graduate school, Girvan moved to New Jersey where he held teaching jobs at Bridgewater-Raritan and Watchung Hills, while coaching football and wrestling at the latter. He moved to Highland Park and when a 7th grade history position opened up in the summer of 2000, Girvan was quick to jump on it.

“HP is an interesting place,” Girvan said. “There is great diversity and intellectual ability in the student body. The fact that we have a wide range of kids makes it both interesting and a challenge to teach. It’s always fun and exciting.”

A little-known fact about Girvan is that in the fall of 2000, he served as the HPHS soccer assistant coach due to a numbers crunch. He then grabbed hold of an assistant coaching position for wrestling, middle school football head coach in 2001, and varsity football assistant in 2002 to complete a rapid rise through the ranks. He was a football assistant for eight years and 2010 will be his fifth season as HPHS wrestling head coach (his 11th year with the program).

“I knew all about the storied tradition of HP football with Jay Dakelman and Joe Policastro, but unfortunately when I came in, we were in one of the worst stretches for the program,” Girvan said. “Coach P helped Rich McGlynn, Sean Harrison and me to get things back on track and now they’re in the midst of four division titles in a row.”

While Girvan will miss his time with the football team, wrestling is and always will be his main passion. “Scott [Gerba] and I worked together to bring back a program that was really doing poorly,” Girvan said. “I have some D-I experience and the kids always ask me to wrestle with them to improve their skills. We have a discipline, a work ethic and a progression that has helped the program.”

Adding athletic director to an already full plate was not a no-brainer for Girvan, but something he has always consciously wanted to get involved in. He and Ann Betterton are raising two children in the borough.

“My wife had mixed feelings because she already saw me very little in the winter,” Girvan said. “But, she’s excited about what will make me happy and we will find our time to spend as a family. The kids will get to watch the programs grow too.”

Sitting in his new office, Girvan rifled through all of the HPHS sports, offering comments on strengths and where each needs to improve in the near future. He beams when talking about the successes of girls’ tennis and basketball in recent years, as well as recent triumphs by softball, wrestling and football.

“As a Group 1 school, we’re limited in the number of athletes we have,” Girvan said. “It’s difficult to maintain and you go through stretches. My job is to help the coaches get what they need to be successful.”

Girvan also expressed his happiness with the borough’s decision to continue to fund middle school sports -- a “crucial outlet for those kids to keep them engaged in a positive environment.” He also praised recent efforts by Highland Park Recreation Department coordinator Andrea Baay to bring in outside mentors and instructors to help younger athletes develop good habits.

“The Highland Park challenge is: how we can get enough kids interested in athletics to develop top-notch programs . . . We have hard-working coaches who can help with that and if we get the numbers in these programs, we’ll be fine.”

Is Girvan prepared for this test? It is apparent that some of the same qualities that make him one of the most popular teachers in the school will help him in being a successful HP athletic director.

“One of the things you have to be as AD is organized,” Girvan said. “I have a passion for sports, live in town and want our kids and my kids to have a tremendous experience in athletics. I will work to make that happen in Highland Park.”