DIXFIELD – Dave Lafleur always felt it would be his destiny to coach at Dirigo.

When the baseball position became available, he quickly stepped to the plate.

The SAD 21 school committee recently approved Lafleur to be the Cougars’ new baseball coach. He has a strong background in the sport and is confident that he can make a difference at his alma mater.

“I’ve learned so much over the years, not just in baseball, but in life,” Lafleur said. “I realized that just because someone has been a player all their life it doesn’t make them an expert, (especially) when it comes to breaking down the mechanical aspects of the game.”

Lafleur admitted struggling to find a good answer to some of his players’ questions. He devoted the past two years to learning and addressing the issues. He purchased instructional videos and sought the advice of others in order to be better prepared for questions.

“I feel that it is a coach’s responsibility to find the right answers. We will also discuss having mentors in life so the kids are secure and have sound guidance to ensure the right decisions are made.”

Lafleur coached the Dirigo junior varsity team last year, and was the pitching coach for the varsity squad in 2006. The team went 17-2 and won the MVC championship, but lost to St. Dom’s in the Class C regional final.

Lafleur’s coaching philosophy is to work hard, have fun and be positive all the time. Be humble in victory and respect other players and coaches, but especially teammates.

“I’ve seen so many things happen in this game based on a person’s attitude,” Lafleur said. “If you’re too cocky you’ll get burned. If you always believe in yourself even if your down, that big rally will happen. I constantly tell kids that if they get a hit four out of 10 times that’s good. But, it is how you handle the other six at-bats that make the difference.”

Lafleur replaces Don Hebert, who was relieved of his duties after charges of gross sexual assault were filed in criminal court by two students at Mountain Valley High School, where he also coached.

Returning coaches include Dave Berry and Reggie Weston.

Lafleur has big game experience, having pitched in the Portland Twilight League and for 17 years in the Pine Tree League. He was a member of the 1980 Auburn Asas championship team. He beat future major league all-star Billy Swift in game one of the playoffs, suffered a loss to Swift in Game 4, but earned the win the next day in the title game at Deering Oaks.

After moving to New York City, Lafleur worked for an airline and flew to Maine every weekend in order to play baseball. He was on championship teams from Rumford and Dixfield.