Southern Door School District has announced the appointment of Ben Kline as the new Athletic Director, effective July 1, 2024. Kline has ten years of teaching experience, with the first five years of his career spent teaching in Massachusetts and the last five years at Southern Door, where he has been teaching Physical Education and Health classes.

 

Kline has coaching experience with three years of varsity head coach of boys’ lacrosse at St. Joseph Central High School in Massachusetts.  He also has 10 years of varsity football coaching experience at various high schools, including St. Joseph Central High School, Pittsfield High School, and Southern Door High School.  He served as the head coach at St. Joseph Central during the 2013 season.

 

Most recently, at Southern Door, he acted as the interim head coach during the 2021 season and coached for three seasons as the JV/JV2 basketball coach and two seasons as the middle school track coach.

 

Kline said, “I am excited for the opportunity to serve as Southern Door’s Athletic Director. We have an incredible group of student-athletes and coaches at Southern Door. As an Athletic Director, my goal is to provide them with the support they need to reach their goals, not just athletically but also in the classroom and the community.” 

 

High School Principal Steve Bousley said, “We are excited to tap into Ben’s skillset, and are looking forward to his leadership in this role. He has experience as a coach, teacher, and leader, and I believe he will do a great job supporting our student-athletes and coaches, as well as positively representing the Southern Door athletic program.” 

 

 Kline will replace Mark Jonas, who will leave Southern Door at the end of the school year for Preble, becoming the Hornets’ new football coach next fall.