Cheshire’s Greg Ferry is the new athletic director at Avon

New Avon High athletic director Greg Ferry (Photo courtesy of CHS Rampage)

Avon High has hired a new athletic director – its third in the past five years. 

Greg Ferry, a long-time school counselor at Cheshire High, begins his new responsibilities here in Avon as director of athletics and student activities on July 1. Ferry replaces Newell Porch, who was the athletic coordinator for 3½ years, beginning in January 2011. 

Ferry has been a guidance counselor at Cheshire High for 11 years. A graduate of the Coast Guard, Ferry has been a football coach for the past 14 years. He was a running back coach at Coast Guard for four years and worked as an assistant at Cheshire High, Sheehan High in Wallingford and most recently at Xavier in Middletown for the past three seasons.

Cheshire High’s online newspaper, the CHS Rampage, interviewed Ferry about his years at Cheshire High and his new job in Avon. 

This spring, Porch resigned along with assistant Marty deLiveron. Before Porch came to Avon, he was the athletic director in Torrington from 1993 to 2010. Porch replaced Tanya Adorno, who worked as the athletic coordinator for a year and a half. She replaced Jeffrey Sunblade, who became the assistant principal in September 2009. He retired at the end of the school year. 

Sunblade was the director of student activities, athletics, health and physical education for 11 years from 1998 to June 2009 when his job was eliminated due to budget cuts. In 2008, the Connecticut Association of Athletic Directors awarded Sunblade the Distinguished Service Award, which is the organization’s highest award.