SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – Southern Maine Community Colleges Athletic Director, Matt Richards, announced the hiring of Jay Pecora as the new Head Golf Coach.  Pecora will take the place of Matt Greenleaf who coach the past two seasons. 

“I think Jay will be a great fit for our program.  He has the right mix of previous coaching experience and also knows how to successfully build a program,” stated Richards. 

Pecora attended Austin Preparatory School in Reading, MA and Worcester Academy in Worcester, MA as a post-graduate.  He then went on to attend New England College (NEC) in Henniker, NH.  While at NEC, he received many prestigious accolades for excelling at ice hockey.  He was the team’s captain three out of four seasons, the 1997 New England Hockey Writers Division II Player of the Year, and NEC Athlete of the Year.  Upon graduating NEC, Pecora went on to play six years of professional hockey in both Europe and North America. Most recently, Pecora was the Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the Portland Junior Pirates Hockey organization. 

Pecora is a USGTF Certified Golf Teaching Professional and serves as the seasonal teaching professional at Province Lake Golf Club.  He has a variety of experience with golf ranging from instructing youth golf clinics for local parks and recreation departments to assisting in the coordination of large scale corporate/non-profit golf outings and tournaments.  

“I am excited for the opportunity ahead of me and want to build a strong, competitive golf program here at SMCC,” stated Pecora.  “My long term goal is to develop both a men’s and women’s stand alone golf team.” 

Athletic Director, Matt Richards and the athletic department would like to welcome Jay Pecora to the SMCC family.