The Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties sports program has a new sheriff in town, and his name is Robert Mann.
And, while Mann was not actually a sheriff, he was member of the Pennsylvania State Police, and he now has become the eighth athletic director in the history of P-O Mounties’ program.
The director Mann replaces, Lee Fisher, was also a member of the Pennsylvania State Police and was Mann’s station commander at the Rockview State Police barracks.
Fisher retired as P-O’s athletic director in November, ending a 15-year tenure in that position. He had also been the varsity girl’s head basketball coach from 1983 to 2002.
“I respect him and his judgment,” said Fisher, of Mann. “He has an outstanding personality, a good work ethic and he’s willing to put in the necessary time to do the Philipsburg-Osceola athletic director’s job.”
Mann is a 1985 graduate of Philipsburg-Osceola High School. He served in the United States Air Force from 1986 to 1990, and enlisted in the state police in 1990. During his career, he served as a trooper, corporal and sergeant in Troop G, Philipsburg.
Mann was promoted to corporal in 1999 and to sergeant in 2009 and recently retired after 25 1/2 years of service.
Mann and his wife, Jessie, a substitute teacher in the P-O Middle School, reside in Philipsburg, and have two sons, Elliott and Grant, and a daughter, Madie.
“I had been thinking of another career after retiring from the Pennsylvania State Police and happened to talk with Lee (Fisher) — who ironically at one time was my boss — about the position, because I knew he was thinking of retiring. That was the first time I even thought about obtaining that position.
“We talked about the position a little bit, and then the position was posted and I put my name in for the job, and went through the process of obtaining the job as the P-O athletic director.”
After nearly 26 years with the Pennsylvania State Police, Mann really had no idea what to do in terms of his retirement.
“Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do after retirement because I was still only 49 years old,” said Mann. “I had a wife and three children ages 6 and under, so I was pretty busy with family. But I had no idea what I was going to do.
“We had just bought a house in Philipsburg. We were living in Williamsport the last few years and we moved back to the area. I wanted to do the yard stuff and work on the new house so I wasn’t even going to look for a job, actually, until the fall.
“Then, I talked with Mr. Fisher and the job certainly interested me because I had coached at P-O previously quite a few years ago in the late ’90s and 2000s, coaching junior varsity basketball. I had coached Little League baseball before and junior varsity football, so I’ve always been interested in athletics.”
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Mann knows he has his work cut out for him, as Philipsburg-Osceola High School fields 22 teams in a variety of sports for both girls and boys.
“I am somewhat comfortable now,” Mann said. “I definitely couldn’t imagine walking into this position without having worked with Lee the past few months.
‘I believe that it is like most jobs, until you actually do it, you are never sure what it all entails. Certainly, working with Lee, who has been very good in this position, has helped me.
“I know one thing, you won’t find a better guy,” Mann said of Fisher. “He’s been doing the job for 15 years. Everybody I talk to, everywhere I go, talks about working with one of the best athletic directors there.”
Fisher feels that Mann is quite ready for the task ahead.
“I felt comfortable that he was able to take on that responsibility,” Fisher said. “Now, Bob just needs to be left alone so that he can get his feet wet a little more.”
The Philipsburg-Osceola partnership began in 1954, combing the two areas of Philipsburg and Osceola Mills. The new school, located in Curtis Park, brought the two high schools together in 1958.
Since then, the Mounties have had seven athletic directors prior to Mann: Vern Smith, Murray Darke, Frank Pipik, Barry Abbott, Henry Scottson, Dick Wood and Fisher.
ADs direct athletic activities, supervise the coordination of athletic events and manage athletic department budgets at secondary and postsecondary schools. Outside of these requirements, athletic directors may also participate in revenue development planning and fundraising.
Additionally, these professionals serve as liaisons with sports conference or division administrators, such as those from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Athletic directors may also be in charge of hiring and firing coaches.
