Walter Polky first learned the game of football on Griffin and Taglienti fields. 

The Fayette native watched his older brothers play football at Livermore Falls High School. After Fayette broke off from SAD 36 when Polky was a fifth grader, he chose the Winthrop school system. Winthrop football fans were grateful, as Polky became one of the most highly-regarded two-way players in Winthrop Ramblers history.

After short but successful playing and coaching careers at the collegiate level, Polky’s football life has come full circle.

Polky, a Bates College assistant coach the last two years, has been named varsity football coach at Spruce Mountain High School.

The 29-year-old was unanimously approved by the RSU 73 school board Thursday night. He replaces Mark Bonnevie, who was ousted last month after one season with the Phoenix.

He was selected for the position by a five-member administrative panel, according to Spruce Mountain athletic director Sally Boivin.

“He brings a lot of enthusiasm and excitement and we’re excited to have him,” Boivin said.

Having grown up playing AYS football in Livermore Falls and Jay, Polky said he is thrilled to be back where his football journey started.

“I know those towns. They have a lot of blue collar people and there’s a lot of tradition,” Polky said. “One thing I really respect about those two communities is it’s a tight, close-knit community. It’s a small community, but it’s a very, very special place.”

“We’re going to learn from those traditions, but we’re going to start our own tradition,” he said.

Polky has experienced a great deal of football tradition in his three decades. He started four years for Norm Thombs at Winthrop, where he earned multiple all-state honors as a defensive end and fullback and was a stalwart on the 1999 Western C championship team and the undefeated 2000 squad that beat MCI, 22-0, for the state title. He graduated in 2001.

After a year as a starter playing for the retiring Rick Marcella at Bridgton Academy prep school, he played Division II football at Southern Connecticut State University for two years. He started both years for Rich Cavanaugh at defensive end and helping to lead the Owls to a school-best 9-2 record in 2003.

He left Connecticut after his sophomore year and took a year and a half off, then he transferred to the University of Maine. He walked on to the football team for a year but did not play because his playing eligibility ran out and he wanted to focus on academics. In 2009, he graduated from Maine with a B.A. in sociology.

Polky immediately went into coaching after graduating from Maine, joining Gabby Price’s staff at Husson University in Bangor for three years. He’s spent the last two years as an assistant coach for Mark Harriman at Bates, coaching the Bobcats’ outside linebackers his first year and slot backs and receivers last fall.

Having played for and worked with coaches with over two centuries of football coaching experience among them, it’s probably not surprising Polky plans to have the Phoenix play old-school football. He prefers the “ground-and-pound” approach on offense and, defensively, wants to “make teams earn it” with good pursuit and tackling.

“We’re going to play some hardcore, fundamental football,” he said. “We’re going to try to play mistake free and the rest will take care of itself.”

It’s an approach Polky first learned watching his older brothers, Michael and David, when they were all-state football players at Livermore Falls High School in the 1990s. Polky was so tied to football in the area that even after he enrolled in Winthrop schools, he continued to moonlight in AYS football until he was 14.

Livermore Falls and Jay merged last year to form Spruce Mountain. In their inaugural season, the Phoenix finished with a 4-5 record and reached the Western Class B (Campbell Conference) quarterfinals.

Bonnevie’s dismissal was attributed at least in part due to strained relationships with some parents. But Polky, who plans to meet with players and parents on June 11, said he isn’t concerned about their involvement in the football program. In fact, he said, he will encourage it.

“I actually want them to be kind of involved,” he said. “When we do two-minute drills in practice, I would love to have a couple of them come down and be our chain gang, that kind of thing.”

“I think once they understand the process and what we’re trying to do and the goals we’re trying to get, it will eliminate a lot of those problems,” added Polky, who plans to put his coaching staff together over the next  several weeks.

Polky and his wife, Morgan, have a six month old son, Adrien. Polky works for Goodwill in Winthrop as a team leader with developmentally disabled people and is near completion of his master’s degree at Husson’s South Portland satellite campus.