HEBRON – Dick Leavitt has done a lot in his 20 years of coaching high school football. He’s rebuilt a program, coached in a state championship game and sent players to Division I programs.
One thing he’s never done is coach his son Robie on the football field. He’s getting that chance this week as some of the best outgoing high school players in Maine prepare for Friday night’s 17th annual Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic at Waterhouse Field in Biddeford.
Robie’s first three years playing for Oak Hill were his dad’s final three as head coach at Brunswick. With most of the Dragons’ games played on Friday nights, Dick saw most of his son’s games from the confines of a lounge chair on Saturday afternoons just beyond the end zone at Oak Hill.
After retiring from Brunswick, Dick spent Robie’s senior year assisting the Raiders coaching staff.
“I mostly helped out with the freshmen,” said Dick. “I didn’t really have a lot of interaction with Robie, but it was nice to be up in the booth during games.”
This past spring Robie, who has a scholarship to play for Curry College in the fall, was selected as a Lobster Bowl participant. Dick has been a fixture over the years as a coach for the event.
“I tried to stay out of the decision making for selecting the team,” said Dick. “If he was going to make it, I wanted him to make it on his own merit.”
Robie was chosen as an offensive lineman, a position he’ll play in college. That idea changed after one day of practice this week at Hebron Academy.
“I saw (dad) Monday morning,” said Robie. “He said we’re thinking of moving you.'”
On to the defensive side of the ball went Robie, where he’ll alternate at nose tackle with Rockland’s Dan Curtis.
“I like offense more,” said Robie, “but they want me to play defense, so I’ll do that for the team.”
Ironically, Robie’s new position coach on the interior line is his father.
“I don’t know how he feels playing for dad,” said Dick. “We’ve done a lot of coaching over the years at the dinner table, but this is certainly a special way for him to end his high school career.”
“Last year at Oak Hill, it wasn’t like he was coaching me,” said Robie. “(This week) he’s teaching me a rip move and how to do it quicker. I’m 6-foot 4 so I have a tendency to stand up and not stay low. He’s getting me to stay lower and control my man that way.”
Robie has also made a point to stop into the coaches’ lounge at night to ask his father how he did during practice. His dad’s been telling him what he did well and making some corrections on his techniques.
Even though it’s only been a couple of days, Dick has already found out how different it is to coach his son. It’s not easy to treat your kid the same as the others. Often a coach tends to be harder or easier on one of his own.
“I think I would be a little harder on him over a full season,” said Dick. “We had a mild situation this morning. I spoke with defensive coordinator Mike Marston and asked him to talk with Robie. I wanted Robie to hear it from another coach. I don’t browbeat him, that’s why we have such a great relationship.”
Robie has matured over the years. He’s the first to acknowledge he used to have a short fuse, which would affect his play. His high school coaches helped with that aspect.
“As he became more mature and in control of his emotions, he’s been able to deal with adversity, and his play on the field improved,” said Dick.
One of Robie’s future teammate at Curry is Tyler Morse from Morse, who is also on the East squad. A week of preparation is helping them both get into football shape.
“Let’s just say that walk up the hill after practice isn’t fun,” said Robie. “You’re tired after practice, but that’s what we’re here for.”
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