HAMPDEN, Maine — Scott Flagg admits he wasn’t a football star during his high school playing days in Brewer.
“I’d call myself a low-level player,” he said. “I was not a great player.”
But Flagg’s love of sports and subsequent involvement in education soon led him into the coaching ranks, and he’ll test those passions as the new varsity football coach at Hampden Academy.
“I’ve always thought about it, I guess,” said Flagg of the head coaching opportunity. “I’ve been at Hampden for five years as an assistant, and the time just felt right.”
Flagg replaces Kevin Canty, who guided the Broncos for two seasons before accepting a coaching job in his home state of North Carolina at Saint Augustine’s University, an NCAA Division III program in Raleigh.
Hampden went 6-11 during Canty’s tenure, finishing 5-4 and earning an Eastern Maine Class B playoff berth in 2013 before dipping to 1-7 last fall.
Flagg is a former varsity basketball coach at Gray-New Gloucester High School, where he worked for 12 years before moving back to Brewer with his family in 2010.
He also was an assistant football coach at Gray-New Gloucester before working under Canty and his predecessor, Harry McCluskey, at Hampden.
“I’ve always been involved in education, and I’ve always loved football,” said Flagg, who also has continued to coach basketball, most recently guiding the boys freshman team at Nokomis of Newport. “I’ve coached basketball as well. I like those two sports, and I’ve just always enjoyed working with kids.”
Flagg, an occupational therapist who works in the special education department at Hampden Academy, Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden and Wagner Middle School in Winterport, said his initial priority in directing the Broncos’ football program is to improve its participation numbers. He said they dipped to the low 30s by the end of last season.
“The first order of business, for sure, is to talk with a lot of kids and try to get our numbers back up and get more kids back out playing,” said Flagg. “Being in the school, I know all the kids, and the first job is trying to assure them it’s going to be a positive, fun thing and get more of them out because the numbers have dwindled.
“We don’t have a very big freshman class coming in, unfortunately, but I’d love to see 50 kids playing,” he added.
Flagg said his team will take an aggressive defensive approach while working offensively to capitalize on such returning veterans as Billy Campbell, Conar Moore and Jake Black.
“Offensively, we have really good skill players,” he said, “so we’ve just got to find different ways to get them the ball.”
Flagg also must assemble a coaching staff while preparing for his team’s summer program, which will include the school’s Thursday night 7-on-7 passing league as well as weight training and some morning sessions where he will start installing the Broncos’ offensive and defensive schemes.
Marshwood wrestlers shine at NEs
Maine competitors had limited success at the 51st New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championship held at North Andover, Massachusetts.
Bradley Beaulieu of Marshwood High School in North Berwick was the top-finishing Mainer, winning three of his four bouts to place second in the 126-pound division.
Beaulieu’s effort, along with a third-place finish by teammate Cody Hughes at 170 pounds and a fifth from Jackson Howarth at 160, helped Marshwood place fourth in the team competition with 55 points, the best effort by a Maine high school.
Perennial power Mount Anthony of Bennington, Vermont, won the team championship with 122.5 points.
Other top individual performances by Maine grapplers were a third-place effort at 220 pounds by Michael Curtis of Wells and a fourth at 126 pounds by Gardiner’s Peter Del Gallo.
