LEWISTON – Jo-Ellen Bourgoin might be the only person outside of a player on an opposing team to call Simon Courcelles “scary.”

Of course, that was only a first impression.

“You just automatically thought he was going to do his own thing,” Jo-Ellen’s husband, Ray, said. “But he’s been great. He’s home all the time.”

“Unfortunately,” their daughter, Melissa, chirped.

“Oh come on, I’m not that bad, am I?” Courcelles asked.

That last comment made everyone crack up, something Courcelles has been good at doing since he arrived at Bourgoin’s house in August.

“Dinnertime is interesting every night,” Jo-Ellen said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

With the team, Courcelles is jokingly called the teams’ “fourth coach.” At home, there are no illusions about the 20-year-old being a third parent to Melissa.

“You know what I call him, really?” Ray said. “I call him my little politician and my Chihuahua.”

A short time later, Melissa revealed Courcelles’ secret penchant for cartoons.

“A parent?” Melissa said. “He watched more cartoons than I do. And Disney movies?”

“I love cartoons, they’re classics,” Courcelles replied.

Despite the ribbing, the Bourgoins – who had hosted a player before – have actually become very close with Courcelles.

“I hope we’ve made a positive impact on him,” Jo-Ellen said.

To which Courcelles replied, “I think so. I mean, I’m sending my little brother up here this summer to stay with them.”

“The way we argue all the time, pick on each other, it’s fun,” Courcelles continued. “What am I going to miss the most? The little things, the way we argue at suppertime, the fun, we yell at each other, all for fun … You leave, you don’t know how it’s going to work out for you, or for them, but you hope for the best.”