Marc Romano lives in Mystic and two of his three children attend Fitch High School. So when he said Tuesday that it was a difficult decision to leave the school, it was no exaggeration.

Romano, the Fitch athletic director for the last eight years, will take over as Montville High School athletic director July 1, Montville principal Heather Sangermano said in a press release. Romano takes over for former Montville AD Phil Orbe, who took the AD's job at New London in February.

"I love the teachers, the students, all my coaches. It was a great eight years I had there," Romano said.

Romano said the position at Montville is a full-time athletic director's position, while at Fitch he still had teaching responsibilities, as well. He said taking the position at Montville was a matter of the right opportunity at the right time.

"It's an administrative position, which is appealing to me," Romano said. "It gives me more opportunities for my career goals and one is being an administrator. The interview process was tough, but I felt it was the right decision for me to make.

"Phil did a great job (at Montville). He's already been there for me if I have any questions. He'll be a great resource for me. I can't thank him enough for that."

The Eastern Connecticut Conference athletic directors had a video conference Tuesday via Zoom to go over bylaws and scheduling, Romano and Orbe among them.

"It was a quick meeting," Romano said. "It was good to see the other ADs. Being out of school for this amount of time ... you're usually there all the time."

Rob Alves, acting assistant principal at Montville, is also serving as interim AD, Romano said.

Romano, a special eduction teacher at Fitch, previously served as head football coach at New London (2003-04), winning an ECC Small Division title in 2004, and at St. Bernard from 2006-08, with the Saints qualifying for a Class M state tournament berth in 2006.

"We are extremely fortunate to have acquired a true professional who brings experience, passion and commitment to this position," Sangermano said.

v.fulkerson@theday.com