For Oak Hill athletic director Jim Palmer, naming a football field after Stacen Doucette is a fitting tribute to a coach who was a devoted father and gave so much to the community and school.

Doucette, who led the Raiders to three Class D state championships in a row between 2013 and 2015, died suddenly in December at age 45. Palmer and the community want to honor a Doucette, who had a deep loyalty toward his players and made sure they were cutting it in the classroom, too.

Soon after Doucette’s death, there was a chorus of voices suggesting that Oak Hill High School’s football field bear the name of the coach who instilled pride in the Raiders. The field will soon be called Stacen Doucette Memorial Field.

“A lot of people had talked about it,” Palmer said. “It was actually something that I thought would happen eventually, anyways. Then I took it to the school board and they approved it.”

Palmer said it will be at least early fall before the field is dedicated in Doucette’s name. Of course, the size of crowds might be an issue due to guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I don’t know what is going to happen in August,” Palmer said. “We obviously want more than 50 people there. I think all those former players from both Lisbon and Oak Hill had a good showing based on the (funeral) service for (Doucette).”

Doucette played quarterback at Lisbon High School. He graduated in 1992 and soon thereafter returned to his alma mater and served for about 20 years as an assistant before being hired as Oak Hill’s head coach in 2012. In Doucette’s second year, the Raiders won their first of three consecutive Class D state championships.

Palmer and Doucette were best friends, and Palmer feels the tribute is one way to honor the late skipper.

“I could talk about him all day long,” Palmer said. “We really connected personally, and he was just a very caring person. He would do anything for anybody.

“He asked a lot of you, and he expected a lot of you as a coach and from me as an AD. I never hesitated to do anything for him because I knew he was going to give back. … He really cared about Oak Hill athletics, not just football.

“He really wouldn’t want to be remembered for the state championships he won. He really wouldn’t. A lot of people say that, but he would really want to be remembered for how many kids’ lives he had an impact on. That’s what made him special.”

Doucette’s wife, Danielle, who is a teacher, said the family is honored to have a field named after late husband.

“I was proud of him even before, but we are very honored that they are doing this, and even more proud of him, if that is even a possibility,” she said. “He went to Oak Hill probably almost every day, even when it wasn’t football season — checking on the kids and making sure they were keeping their grades up. He went to lunch with Jim a lot.”

Danielle said her husband worked nights at Shaw’s in Wiscasset so he could coach during the day. 

“He started coaching as soon as he graduated from high school,” she said. “He touched a lot lives, and we saw that at the (funeral) service in December. It was overwhelming to see all those people there.”

Geoff Wright, the new head football coach at Oak Hill, said the dedication of field in Stacen Doucette’s memory is fitting.

“Stacen was in my time at the school, and I went there, and no disrespect to anybody else that coached there, but as far as football goes, (he was) one of the most committed coaches that has ever been affiliated in that district,” Wright said. “He was always involved, not just in football, but in all of the kids’ academic work and all other aspects of their lives. He just didn’t stick to football kids. He got involved with a lot of members of the student body.

“You don’t meet too many Stacens in your lifetime.”

Wright is still humbled by the outpouring of support in the days following Doucette’s sudden death.

“One thing I said in a previous interview that there was so much response to his passing in the funeral. … There is no way you can thank everybody,” Wright said. “For anybody and everybody who was involved in that week, there is a big thank you from the school and from the coaching staff, personally.”

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