Bill Fairchild didn’t have to look far to find his replacement as baseball coach at Oak Hill High School.

Oak Hill assistant and Monmouth Legion coach Chad Drouin will succeed Fairchild pending school board approval next month.

“I think he’s very qualified and very ready. He’s obviously paid his dues,” Fairchild said of Drouin. “He’s coached at every level. He’s worked real hard at Legion. He has good skills as far as teaching skills and is fundamentally solid.”

“I’m extremely excited,” said Drouin, 29. “This is what I’ve been waiting for and I can’t think of any other program that I’d rather be associated with.”

Drouin played at Monmouth Academy and graduated in 1993 before moving on to the University of Southern Maine. An injury cut short his college career, so he went into coaching at the age of 20, beginning at Monmouth Middle School. He then coached the JV at Cape Elizabeth before joining Fairchild’s staff at Oak Hill three years ago. He’s also coached Winthrop and Monmouth Legion for seven years.

Drouin’s relationship with Fairchild goes back before he joined him at Oak Hill.

“I started learning from Bill when I coached his son Tip (currently a star at USM) through middle school and in Legion,” Drouin said. “Between him and (USM) coach (Ed) Flaherty at USM, I don’t think you can find two better guys to learn from in the state.”

Drouin said he shares much of the same philosophy of his mentors as far as teaching the game and dealing with his players. Like them, he also stresses pitching and playing sound fundamental baseball, but, he admitted, his offensive philosophy is different.

“I’m more for playing for the big inning than playing small ball, but I’m going to have to adapt my philosophy to play a little small ball,” he said.

While the Raiders lost a number of talented seniors from last year’s squad that went 16-2 and reached the Western Class B semifinals, Drouin expects to maintain Oak Hill’s status as one of the top baseball programs in the state.

“The program has always been strong and there’s some more talent on the way,” Drouin said.

Fairchild, who is also the school’s athletic director, stepped down as baseball coach at the end of last season after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 28 years as the school’s only baseball coach, he directed the Raiders to state championships in Class C in 1978 and 1981 and in Class B in 2003.

He underwent surgery about a month ago to remove the cancer and said he feels good. He’ll find out in August whether he needs to follow up with chemotherapy and hopes to be back at his familiar posts full-time when the new school year begins.

“As far as teaching and being the athletic director, my plan is to continue,” Fairchild said.

He said he has been going to the high school about once a week and is overseeing a number of improvements to the athletic facilities at the high school, particularly the gymnasium.