Kevin Smith is ready to usher in a new era at Edward Little

Kevin Smith knew early in his coaching career that he wanted to be a head coach.

He also wanted to return to his roots and coach his alma mater, Edward Little.

That first year at Falmouth, I said, I could see myself doing something like that for the long term,” Smith said. When I got the call to go to EL, I ultimately wanted to be there since it is my alma mater.

Smith, who served as one of Norm Gagne's assistant coaches for the past four seasons, will take over as Edward Littles' head hockey coach. Gagne announced his retirement in February.

Athletics director Todd Sampson said it is positive to have someone already familiar with the Red Eddies program leading the team.

He understands Edward Little hockey, and having been on the bench the last few years, he understands our kids extremely well and the things they need to improve on, Sampson said. Kevin is a professional and he will have the best interests of the children in mind first and foremost. It was a logical choice for him to become the next hockey coach.

The seeds for Smith to become a head coach were planted last winter when Gagne gave him more responsibilities.

Coach Gagne did a great job with me last year, Smith said. That was our plan: he was the head coach and he had the final decisions, but he was really preparing me to take on that role for this (upcoming) season.

Obviously, I still had to go through the process of interviewing and beating out other candidates, but Coach Gagne had complete confidence in me.

Gagne said Smith has a good eye for skills and will take the program to another level.

He can see things I couldn't see. For example, with different players, their strengths and weaknesses, Gagne said. I think a lot of his input was great, and I told him so. The good thing about bouncing off is that you see a different perspective of what you see.

The Red Eddies went 7-10-1 this winter and finished ninth in Class A, one spot shy of a playoff berth.

Gagne and Smith spoke this week after Smith accepted the job. Gagne told him to start planning for the winter now.

“I told him what to do: stay informed about what's going on, make sure you get ice time for scrimmages, make sure you contact coaches you want to compete against in the (preseason),” said Gagne. Because if you back down and don't do it now, you'll be behind the 8 ball.

Smith can be the benefactor of all of Gagne's coaching plans and strategies because Gagne offered them to Smith.

“I have a lot of material for him,” Gagne said. I told him, 'You're not going to use it all, but if you go through it every now and then, it's all for you. If you want a pre-study, you can go to the pre-study and find out the coaching points and all the things you need to know about those different things.

I said I have everything, and you can parse what you like and throw away what you don't like.”

Gagne said he would be available to Smith in the future to bounce ideas off him if necessary.

Smith also credits Falmouth head coach Deron Barton for his development as a coach. Before joining Gagne's staff, Smith spent the previous three seasons as an assistant at Falmouth.

Deron taught me a lot, as far as controlling a locker room, disciplining the kids and keeping everything on the same page, Smith said. That's the biggest thing I took from him, his ability to gain the kids' respect in a respectful way, but he had those kids locked up. A very important aspect of being a head coach is making sure these kids are all aware. same page and buying a system we are trying to use.

Sampson said Smith knows how to handle high school students in tough situations.

What has impressed me several times about Kevin is that he has a bond with the kids, Sampson said. If it's a bad period, or maybe the game hasn't gone the way we wanted, he'll be in the hallway near the locker room talking one-on-one, giving that kid a pep talk, giving that kid what he needs to do. to work. the net day.

KEEPING CHILDREN IN HIGH SCHOOL

One of Smith's goals is to keep kids playing high school hockey for as long as possible.

Smith, a 2007 graduate of Edward Little High School, said he wishes he played his senior season with the Red Eddies. Instead, he played junior hockey with the Portland Jr. Pirates organization in Saco.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my junior days, but I would have had them regardless of whether I left that senior year or not, Smith said. When I look back, I see that now. Unfortunately, these kids feel pressured when they want to go somewhere and play for a team like that.

During the 2006–07 season, Smith played for the Pirates Junior B team in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League, then spent the next two seasons with the Pirates Junior A team in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. He played three seasons at the University of Southern Maine from 2009 to 2012.

You only get these four years once, Smith said. I want to be a coach that these kids want to stay and play for. I want to be that guy who has a close relationship with the families and the parents, to give them the confidence that their kids are going to get the coaching they would get anywhere else, if not better.

I want to touch on their skills and development because in my opinion the state of Maine should look like it did in the late 1990s and early 2000s where the entire town wanted to see the local teams compete against each other. I will do everything I can to give hockey that structure again.

Smith said he will be involved with the Maine Gladiators youth hockey organization, which is also based at Norwegian Savings Bank Arena, to promote high school hockey and the Edward Littles program.

Smith will look to his older brother Kyle Smith as an example of what the high school experience can deliver. Kyle was a member of back-to-back Edward Little's 2003 and 2004 Class A state championship teams.

There's nothing like winning a state championship, Kevin Smith said. He still has those rings on (display) because it means a lot. I think that's fallen out of sight for a lot of these families because Maine High School hockey is a proud place to play.

EXCITEMENT AT EL

Smith said the news of him taking over has been positive within the Edward Little community.

The EL faculty was incredible, Kevin Smith said. There are still a lot of the same teachers, and when I went to meet Todd this week it was like deja vu, they were all giving me hugs and stuff. They are excited.

Sampson said the players are looking forward to playing for Smith next season.

“We are in the kids business and the most important thing is our student-athletes,” Sampson said. There were a lot of high-fives in the hallways the last few days when they heard Coach Smith was taking over.

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