Dave Boucher went to officiate a pair of soccer games this fall, and a hockey coaching opportunity appeared.

Boucher, of Lewiston, who last coached four years ago at Brunswick High School and previously had coached at Edward Little, is the new head coach of the Leavitt Hornets.

“It really is a coup, we couldn’t be happier,” Leavitt Athletic Director Jeff Ramich said.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Boucher said.

The fact that Boucher is back in the game at all has everything to do with a couple of chance meetings as he officiated soccer games during the fall sports season.

“I found out from a former player of mine, Aaron Rand, who coaches (girls’ soccer and boys’ hockey) at Poland,” Boucher said. “I refereed his soccer game and he told me there was an opening at Leavitt. The next day I was at Leavitt, and talked to Jeff about it. I inquired about the schedule and it worked out with the logistics.”

Ramich was pleasantly surprised when Boucher expressed interest.

“He was officiating one of our soccer games, and when he had a minute I went over and said, ‘You know, we’re still looking for a hockey coach,'” Ramich said. “His eyebrows went up, he got a big smile on his face and he said, ‘You know what, let me talk it over with my wife and I’ll get back to you.’ A couple weeks later, he was doing another game and he told me, ‘I downloaded my application today and you’ll have it by Monday.'”

Boucher was far from the only applicant, though, and Ramich had to do his due diligence.

“We had a great pool of candidates, too,” Ramich said. “We had a lot of guys apply, some who were already helping on staff, an outside candidate got an interview and they had great experience, but when you have a coach like Dave apply, there was no way we could say no to that. We’re pumped.”

Four years removed from his last head coaching job, Boucher’s never intended for it to be his last.

“I always have the itch,” Boucher said with a laugh. “Four years ago, I had to take a break and get my masters degree. This opportunity came up. I never retired from coaching or anything. Sometimes things come up and you have to take a break.”

Having coached a pair of teams in Class A that at times struggled to find an identity among the conference elite, Boucher knows well that Leavitt isn’t going to ascend immediately to the top of the standings.

“I think it’s actually kind of similar to Edward Little and Brunswick,” Boucher said. “The couple of years at Brunswick, we had a lot of talent, but we were not considered the best in the East, that was Lewiston and St. Dom’s. And at EL, it was the same way. Leavitt’s always been competitive, I think, especially the past six years.

“I like that, I like the challenge,” Boucher added. “I like to play against the best teams. It makes it more interesting to go to practice and work with the players. They won the sportsmanship award last year, so that’s good. I know I have a good group of players to work with in that regard.”

Boucher said former Westbrook coach and St. Dominic Academy graduate Travis Jalbert, along with longtime assistant Larry Morin will be along for the ride this season.

The Hornets begin practice Monday, with an eye toward reclaiming a playoff berth in Western Class B.

“Hopefully with someone as experienced as he is, someone who’s been there and done that, someone who has taken two other programs that were down and put them on the path to state and regional titles, hopefully he can do the same thing for us at Leavitt,” Ramich said.

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