WESTBOROUGH – Westborough High School Athletic Director Johanna DiCarlo earned special recognition last month as the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s State Award of Merit winner.
Praise quickly poured in as community members and colleagues congratulated DiCarlo.
“It’s super humbling,” she told the Community Advocate. “…So many athletic directors out there do tremendous jobs all year long. So, it’s certainly incredibly honoring to be recognized as an individual.”
Continuing her comments, DiCarlo deferred praise to the individuals who make up the Westborough High School athletic department.
“The community and the students and the staff here are really what makes us successful,” she said.
DiCarlo has been Westborough’s athletic director since 2007, taking the job after previously serving as an assistant athletic director and head coach of field hockey and softball at Regis College in the early 2000s. DiCarlo left Regis in 2002 to coach field hockey and softball at Worcester Polytechnic Institute until her hiring in Westborough.
Over more than a decade in her current role, DiCarlo has overseen major growth in the Westborough High School athletic department, notably helping lead the school’s “Rangers on Track” facilities upgrade project.
“Our students are proud of their school and their facilities,” she said in 2018 as that work moved forward. “It was strategically planned, and it is great to see the community come together to celebrate it.”
“This is tremendously difficult work,” she said in her comments following this recent award. “But it’s also extremely rewarding work. So when you get messages of encouragement or appreciation from your peers, it really is special.”
Congratulated by fellow athletic directors, DiCarlo has also recently seen praise from Westborough’s coaches.
“It’s been great working with her,” girls varsity soccer coach Paul Mumby said in a recent interview before news of DiCarlo’s award broke. “It’s the same as any working relationship. You have your differences at times, but she’s a great AD to have.”
“She’s very organized and she’s someone that represents Westborough well,” he continued. “If I ever need anything, she’s always there for me.”
DiCarlo was on the sidelines this fall as several of Westborough’s fall teams made deep runs into the playoffs.
Approaching a winter season that figures to pose unique challenges amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, DiCarlo said she appreciates the people she works with and the student athletes she helps lead.
“It’s a really dedicated group of individuals that come together as teams to make really special things happen,” she said. “I’m really proud that our department has a really good set of core values that we try to live by, and I think, by doing that, and being consistent with our approach that we’re able to find some success in quite a few of our sports.”
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