The new athletic director at North Moore High School is a familiar face to Mustang fans.

Bobby Collins has been tabbed to succeed interim AD Cheryl Brewer.

Collins, 49, spent eight seasons as the Mustangs baseball coach. He called the move to AD a natural one.

"I've been involved in athletics my whole life," Collins said. "And we have a lot of good things going on here. This is a real good opportunity and I look forward to coming to work every day."

North Moore principal Scott Absher praised Collins and his commitment to the success of the school and its athletics programs.

"He is a real hard worker," Absher said. "He spends a tremendous amount of time on campus."

Collins takes over for interim AD Cheryl Brewer. Brewer, the longtime coach and AD at North Moore took over the position after Scott Blue resigned the post midway through the 2007-08 school year.

"This is going to be a challenge," Collins said. "I've dealt with budgets before, dealt with parents and dealt with kids, only now its magnified tenfold. It's going to be a challenge."

Two priorities for Collins are improving the facilities and increasing the number of students participating in athletics.

Renovations are under way to the football field at the high school. Those improvements are expected to be completed by the fall.

Student participation will be key. The largest senior class in school history graduated this spring. Collins said the loss will hit all programs hard. He said he has heard that the number of students in the school be off by about 100 from this past school year.

"We need to increase participation and student involvement," Collins said. "It starts at the middle school and continues to here (high school). We have to get the students walking these halls interested in athletics."

Collins is encouraging all North Moore athletes to participate in weight training this summer. The weight room is open from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"We've got to get our athletes stronger and quicker," Collins said.

From an administrative standpoint, Collins will have to find a head boys' basketball coach and a new baseball coach.

Collins credited the administration and staff at North Moore for making his transition a smooth one.

"The people here I work with and the staff have been so supportive. They have been the best part about the new job."

When asked about the drawbacks of the position, he said there is really only one.

"It was my daughter (NMHS junior Elizabeth) telling me she won't ride to work with me," Collins said.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.