VAN BUREN, Maine (WAGM) – President Jimmy Carter was in office when Steve Lapierre began his soccer coaching career back in 1979 and LaPierre has coached through eight different presidencies. One of the deans of soccer coaching is hanging up the cleats and retiring from the soccer sidelines.
Steve Lapierre:”When I started coaching we were a bigger Class B School. We have had a declining enrollment over the years. The kids continue to work hard, you just have less numbers to choose from. The big thing you have less kids in the school and not as many numbers.”
LaPierre has spent 42 years on the sidelines and coached in six different decades. He missed one year due to back surgery and another year because the Crusaders did not have the numbers to field a team. He has also spent nearly 40 years coaching basketball so in all that is over 80 seasons of coaching. He said he never thought he would still be coaching 44 years after he started
Lapierre:” I don’t think anyone who starts coaching thinks it is going to go very long. I have been very lucky. The community and the school have supported the sports programs. It has been fun for me, and I really appreciate the support I have had throughout the years.”
He has won four States including back in 2006. These are highlights from the Championship run that year. He also won States in 1994, 1996 and 2004. He also won five other regional titles beginning in 1979, 91,99 and back to back on 2001 and 2002. The sign of every LaPierre team is speed and giving 100 percent on the field.
LaPierre:” There was a stretch of 10 to 12 years where our teams were always in the mix. The kids had that mentality of winning. We had good feeder programs and good recreation programs. We were lucky we got to the point we had.”
According to the Maine Soccer Coaches Association website LaPierre has 373 career win which is sixth on the all time list for most wins by a boys coach. He has seen a lot of changes to the sport during his tenure including the introduction of 8 v 8 soccer.
LaPierre:” Well you can’t get as many kids involved and if you have one or two or three really good athletes in a small sided team you can really dominate.”
Over the years LaPierre’s teams would play very hard and even if they weren’t as talented, they would try to out work their opponents and the veteran Coach says that is what he hopes his legacy will be.
LaPierre:” I would like to be remembered as being fair to the kids. The kids worked hard, and we always gave them a fair shake. If they deserve to play, they play. It has always been good to me, and soccer has been good to me. I loved working with the kids and see their development and I would like to think I left them with a little bit more than when they came to me.”
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