EAST PROVIDENCE — For his quarter century of tutelage, current East Providence Schools Athletic Director Bob Duarte was recently inducted as a member of the Rhode Island Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2015.

Mr. Duarte was recognized during a formal ceremony held April 10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick.

The city native, East Providence High School graduate and long-time EPHS teacher and athletic mentor was bestowed the honor for his efforts while serving as EPHS girls' outdoor track and field head coach from 1990-2014 as well as head coach of the Townies' girls' indoor team from 1993-2014. In fact, he helped start the girls' indoor program at the school.

Mr. Duarte remains as the EPHS boys' cross country team coach, a position he's held since 2010. He formerly held the position of boys' indoor track assistant coach from 1988-91. He served as the program's head coach from 1991-94. Previously, Mr. Duarte was the boys' outdoor track assistant coach at Pilgrim High in Warwick.

"It's a huge honor for me," Mr. Duarte said. "Obviously, you don't get into coaching for the accolades. I was fortunate enough to have some great coaches when I was here (at EPHS as a student), which meant a lot to me. And I just wanted to give back to the kids from what I had received here."

Mr. Duarte's teams won two state championships, the 1996 girls' outdoor and 1994 girls' indoor titles. The outdoor team also claimed four Class A championships while the indoor team won a pair of Large School Class crowns. Additionally, the girls' indoor program won three division titles and the outdoor team five.

"We were blessed in the mid-90s with some great athletes and some really good teams," Mr. Duarte said. "Winning the championships within two years of each other was special because we did it with a different group of kids. But helping start the indoor program ranks right up there with the championships. I'm proud of the fact that I played a role in giving kids a chance to compete in something they hadn't had before."

Mr. Duarte needed to eventually relinquish his duties as a track and field coach after he was promoted from the assistant AD position to athletic director two years ago. He said it was a necessary though still difficult decision.

"It's unlikely I'll ever coach track again. I've certainly missed it. Not coaching in those seasons is something I hadn't done in a long, long time," Mr. Duarte added. "But I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I hope the kids got as much out of it as I did. The thing I'll treasure the most is taking a kid who had never really done anything athletically before they came here and seeing them improve by the time they're seniors.

"Working with the kids on a daily basis is what I miss the most. I was fortunate to have some great athletes but they were even better students and people."