AUBURN – A second local high school hockey coaching vacancy has been filled.
Craig Latuscha, 26, of Auburn, will be the next head coach of the Edward Little hockey team.
Latuscha has been an assistant with the program for three years and was the junior varsity coach last season. He replaces Jamie Belleau, an attorney from Lewiston, behind the bench of a program that won back-to-back state titles in 2003 and 2004.
Belleau resigned after the 2004-05 campaign, citing a desire to spend more time with his young family.
“Coach Latuscha was the junior varsity coach last year and a volunteer assistant to the junior varsity program before that,” said Belleau. “He is a teacher at the high school, which is a benefit, is well liked by the players and will bring a lot of energy to the program.”
For Latuscha, the biggest task will be working with a team that has graduated 23 players in two years, including eight following last year’s run to the Eastern Class A playoffs.
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid,” said Latuscha. “My hope is that I can help to rebuild the program. We have a very young core of players, but we also have a lot of younger players that got some experience last year.”
And while the young coach wants to move forward, he isn’t about to forget the ground work that Belleau laid by winning two state titles.
“It’s going to take some time to rebound, but I think we’re in good shape because of the reputation we started to build,” said Latuscha. “I’m probably going to have to go to the Auburn Youth Hockey League and talk to them, and work on stuff with the middle school program, too. My biggest thing is to keep the kids from Auburn going to Edward Little and not to other schools just for hockey, and I think winning two state titles is really going to help with that down the road.
“Jamie was really good with his knowledge of the game, having played, and all of his systems and having the kids play within those systems. I learned a lot from that, and I think it will help, too, that I am in the school system. That might have been the only disadvantage he had, not being able to connect with the kids at school.”
Latuscha teaches history at Edward Little.
Edward Little athletic director Dan Deshaies could not be reached for comment.
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