Each year around basketball tournament time, Mark Simpson would miss it.

He had coached at the varsity level at Mt. Blue and Livermore Falls and each February that urge to return to high school coaching only intrigued him more.

So when Frank Donald resigned as the girls’ basketball coach at Livermore Falls, Simpson seized the opportunity to return.

“I’ve got some unproven business to take care of,” said Simpson. “Every year, I go to the tournament, and it really starts to get into you. When Frank gave it up, I had coached there before. I just remembered that experience being nothing but positive. So I jumped at the chance.”

Simpson was at Livermore Falls from 1988 to 1991. The Andies went 45-17 during those four years and made the playoffs each year. He coached the Mt. Blue girls’ varsity for three seasons, from 1994 to 1996. The Cougars went 22-32 during that time.

Simpson resigned from the Mt. Blue job citing issues with parents. He’s been coaching regularly since at Mt. Blue Middle School, where he teaches.

Simpson has already met with some players at the school. He had 13 players attend a meeting about summer basketball and that didn’t include ninth graders. He’s got a summer program of 15 games and occasional practices in the works.

“I’m excited to be back at it,” he said. “I’m hoping to have a good summer. I don’t have high expectations for next year because we’ll both be learning a lot, but I had success there when I was there before. I like the enthusiasm that they showed, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Coaching in the Mountain Valley Conference again is an exciting opportunity for Simpson, who’ll face some familiar faces in the MVC coaching ranks. Mt. Abram’s Doug Lisherness, Winthrop’s Ray Convery and Madison’s Al Veneziano were all coaching in the MVC when Simpson was with the Andies before.

“MVC basketball is some of the best basketball in the state,” he said. “The coaching in that league is phenomenal. The kids just seem to play for different reasons kind of. It’s a good feeling. They play hard, and I loved it when I was there before. I’ve been to the tournament many times over the years since, and that’s always my favorite day to go – when the MVC teams are playing.”

Donald cited problems with certain parents when he resigned after last season. That interference created a distraction that sapped the energy out of the job, he said.

The Andies went 35-37 during his four years and were 9-9 last year before losing in the prelims. Simpson says he did see the Andies play last year and is glad he’s able to provide a fresh perspective.

“I’ve kind of purposely let it be new,” he said. “So they start with a clean slate. I don’t know much about them, and they don’t know much about me. So we’re going to come along together. We’re all going to have new starts, I hope.”