A spur of the moment decision led Dave Morin to coach baseball at Leavitt Area High School for two decades. The decision to leave took quite a bit longer.

Morin, who led the Hornets to the only state title in the baseball program’s history in 1996, has stepped down after 19 years with the program, the last 16 as varsity coach.

With Leavitt moving down to Class B after the upcoming season, the 62-year-old Morin figured the time was right to hand the reigns over to someone else.

“We haven’t been able to turn anything around recently, and with the move to Class B next year, it was a good time,” he said. “I think it’s a really good time for a fresh face.”

Leavitt finished 2-14 and at the bottom of the KVAC season last year. Morin considered resigning right after the season but, at the urging of Leavitt athletic director Doug Conn, waited until last month to make a final decision.

“I wanted him to take some time to think about it. He’s just a good teacher in terms of working with kids,” Conn said.

Morin, who retired from teaching last year, said he will continue to coach varsity boys’ soccer at Edward Little, a post he’s held for 29 years.

He may never have donned the Leavitt uniform if he hadn’t shown up on the right day after his son Chad’s junior varsity practice.

“I had come to pick him up one day at practice, I think it was his freshman year, and all the players came out and said there was no JV coach and would I do it for a year,” Morin said. “I said, ‘Why not?’ and the next thing you know, I’m there for 19, 20 years.”

Morin stayed on even though his family moved and Chad started playing at Maranacook his sophomore year. After three years, he took a year off, then took over the varsity program. His first year, the Hornets won the Mountain Valley Conference with a freshman and sophomore-laden starting lineup. In 1996, that same nucleus defeated Winslow, 8-0, to win the Class B state championship.

“I was really appreciative of the way I was accepted out there (at Leavitt),” Morin said. “Doug was great, and I never felt like an outsider. I always felt comfortable.”

The Hornets later moved to the KVAC and stepped up to Class A and never had the same success, although Morin did get to enjoy some two-way bragging rights when Edward Little moved from the SMAA to the KVAC in 2003.

“The first year was the best because EL won in soccer and Leavitt won in baseball,” he said. “That didn’t happen again.”

Conn said Leavitt advertised for a replacement and has received responses from three applicants, plus one other interested individual. He would like to set up an ad hoc committee of administrators and players to review the candidates and have a new coach within a few weeks.

“I would like to think we’d get it done before February vacation, but I don’t know,” he said.