It was time to spruce up the coaching staff at Regional School Union 73.

The first class of coaches at Spruce Mountain High School were approved Tuesday night, and the future athletic programs for the combined Jay and Livermore Falls high schools have begun to take shape.

Among the new coaches were former University of Maine assistant and longtime Dirigo  basketball coach Gavin Kane as well as current Jay football coach Mark Bonnevie.

“The coaching position at Spruce Mountain was very intriguing to me with the consolidation of the two schools,” said Kane. “Being in a leadership role to help mold these two programs into one is a challenge that I really look forward to. What a great opportunity for the players to be part of something new and put their mark on the beginning of a new era in the Jay-Livermore Falls area.”

Kane was an assistant with the Black Bears the last two seasons and is just finishing up his tenure there. Though head coach Cindy Blodgett was fired by the university, Kane has continued on and even had opportunity to stay with the program. He says he missed coaching in games and was tiring of the lengthy commute to Orono from his home in Wilton.

“Leaving the University of Maine was not an easy decisions for me,” said Kane. “I got a taste of what it is like to coach at the D1 level, and there were many aspects of the job that I loved. It was tough on our family to have me away so much. So even though I was offered by the new coach to stay on as Director of Basketball Operations, which wasn’t an actual coaching position, I decided it was time to get back closer to home.”

Prior to his two years at Maine, Kane had coached both the Dirigo boys’ and girls’ programs. He went 263-17 and won a state record 11 straight regional titles with the girls. He also won six state titles.  He went 74-10 with the boys’ program and won the regional title in 2009.  Any opportunity to return to Dirigo was prohibited by the current teacher’s contract there. It does not allow for non-teachers to apply for an open position until after teachers in the district have first refusal.

“I am thrilled to start this new program,” said Kane. “I sensed an excitement in my interview with the committee and an excitement from Principal (Gilbert) Eaton and Athletic Director (Sally) Boivin about the prospect of our staff coming on board. We all are anxious to make the merger of these communities in many ways.”

The Livermore Falls girls, under Mark Simpson, went 15-3 and reached the regional final before losing to Hall-Dale. Jay, coached by Chris Bessey, went 10-6 and lost in the quarterfinals. Both teams lost most of their starters, but veteran athletes like Livermore’s Kathryn Ventrella and Jay’s Lexi Deering and Alexis Blodgett are returning players. Both Simpson and Bessey had their teams play a hard-nosed defensive style that made them two of the best defensive teams in the conference.

“We look to instill an aggressive style of play on both ends of the floor,” said Kane. “I realize that both varsity teams lost a number of starters and there will be kids stepping into more prominent roles. However, both schools had outstanding coaching who I’m sure have prepared younger players to be ready to move up.”

Bonnevie has been the football coach at Jay the last nine seasons. He’s gone 50-34 and led his team to the playoffs six times including a regional title in 2004.

“I knew all along that this was something that would be very exciting for both communities, and I was very interested in being part of it,” said Bonnevie, who graduated from Jay in 1986.  “It’s something that’s been talked about in this area for quite awhile. To have the opportunity to be the one that gets to get it going is exciting.”

Jay went 5-3 last year and lost in the semifinals while Livermore Falls went 4-4 and missed out on the tourney because of a tie-breaker.

“We get to start something that we expect to be great,” said Bonnevie, whose team will play in Western B. “Especially the seniors, they get to get things started, and we expect it be be the beginning of something very special.”

Bonnevie says it will take some time to learn all about the players that Livermore Falls had. He’ll watch some video and review the results from last year. His Jay squad graduated just six from a roster that had less than 30 players.

“I think we’re going to have a healthy number,” he said. “We’ve got a good incoming freshman class now that they’re both together. We’re definitely going to be at a number that we’re not used to having. It’s going to be exciting.”

The football position was the only job that wasn’t a unanimous vote Tuesday. Former Livermore Falls coach Brad Bishop was also a candidate for the position, and had people speak in support of him to the board.  Bonnevie was approved by an 11-1 margin.

“As far as the kids go, I think it’s going to be a lot easier than people think,” said Bonnevie, who added the logistics of the merge may be the biggest challenge in the transition. “The football part, once we get going, I think we’re going to be fine.”

The board also brought back soccer coaches Jon Blaisdell and Bill Acritelli. Blaisdell coached the Jay girls’ last fall, going  6-6-2. Acritelli was the Livermore Falls soccer coach and went 7-6-1 last fall.  He also coached the Nordic ski team and will continue that role with Spruce Mountain.

Julia Parker and Jane DiPompo are also back in familiar roles. Parker coached the Andies while DiPompo was the Jay coach. They’ll share duties as the varsity and JV coaches. Parker coached the 13-1 Andies to the Western C semifinals before losing to NYA

Rosie Richmond was hired as the fall and winter cheering coach while Kellee Fortier was added as a winter cheering coach.  Ray Chase was approved as the co-ed cross country coach while Kenny Jacques continues as the alpine ski coach.

kmills@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link