Five years after beginning his hockey coaching career as a junior varsity coach for Leavitt, and one year after coaching his last JV game, Josh Gregoire is getting the chance he’s always wanted.

Gregoire, who took last year off from coaching after the birth of his first child and after low numbers forced the Hornets to drop their junior varsity program, will have the chance to lead a program of his own.

Leavitt has hired Gregoire, 29, to succeed Ronnie Rouillard as the team’s coach this season.

“I think they knew that I wanted to be a head coach some day,” Gregoire said, “and when I found out this summer that the position was open, I thought the timing was right.”

“What’s nice is he was with the program for a few years already,” Leavitt athletic director Doug Conn said. “When we dropped the program, he was going to be taking time off to be with his family anyway, and so when the position came back open, it was a natural fit. The kids, most of them know him and had him as a coach, and a lot of them are excited to have him come back.”

Gregoire played his high school hockey at Thornton Academy. A starter as a freshman, he captained the Golden Trojans his senior season.

Even as a student at the University of Maine, he knew what he wanted to do in the future.

“I always wanted to coach, I even took classes at UMaine in coaching,” Gregoire said. “This group of kids, I know them. I’ve coached a lot of them.”

Leavitt has been a steady team in recent years in Western Class B, but the Hornets have almost always made the playoffs, and then made a quick exit.

“This team, this group of players, I know they can be competitive,” Conn said.

“As with any program, there are ups and downs, years when you rebuild and years where everything falls into place,” Gregoire said. “I know this team we have coming in. We have to work hard and see what we can do about going a bit deeper in the playoffs.

“I’m ready for the responsibility and commitment,” Gregoire continued. “I know we’ll have a good time and learn and grow together all year, and I hope at the end we can come together and be competitive.”