TOPSHAM

O’Neil Laplante has had a quite a life, with several highs and devastating lows along the way.

From his early days at Winslow High School, to attending college at the University of Maine, to coaching, teaching and even working as a police officer and detective, Laplante is one of the few that can legitimately say “been there, done that!”

Laplante recently signed on for the challenge of turning around the Mt. Ararat High School football team, a program continuing to look for success on the gridiron.

One just needs to look at the statistics for the Eagles over the past nine seasons to see how much this program has struggled. Mt. Ararat has a combined record of 15- 61, including two playoff losses in its only two playoff appearances in that stretch.

But, Laplante is ready for this challenge. Quite frankly, he has faced down tragedies in his own life that might have made most anyone want to give up their faith.

Laplante has lost two of his four children. He has come away from those life-altering events stronger, ready to take on life and enjoy what is front of him day-in and day-out. Taking on a program that has struggled isn’t even close to what this grizzled veteran of the classroom, wrestling mat and football field has faced down and come away from even more determined.

Let’s take a look at O’Neil Laplante.

Early days

Laplante grew up in the Waterville/Winslow area, attending and playing football at Winslow High School before moving on to the University of Maine in Orono.

He played football for one season for the Black Bears, but improving his studies won out. Laplante graduated with a double major —

Health/Physical Education and History. Soon he was in the classroom, teaching at Winslow, Waterville, Gardiner and Oak Hill, spending 37 years as a teacher.

Throughout the years, he found himself teaching on the football sidelines as well, coaching for several years at Gardiner before a five-year run at Oak Hill from 1986-90. At Oak Hill, Laplante began the school’s wrestling program.

He remembers those football days at Oak Hill.

“We had a situation where we had struggled before. While there, we became and were known for being a smashedmouthed football team with some winning seasons. Even in 3-5 seasons, we were there.”

Laplante has watched from afar as former Lisbon assistant coach Stacen Doucette has led the Oak Hill Raiders to the past three State Class D titles.

“Stacen has done a great job there. They had been down, and he has given them the kind of energy to get going.”

Difficult challenges

Laplante talked about losing his sons, Joe and Pat.

“It was devastating losing Joe. He had demons, and he couldn’t deal with them. As a result he took his own life. It took me a long while to recover.

“In 2014, another son, Pat, was diagnosed with cancer and lived for nine months. I probably learned more from him than any other human being that I have been associated with. I couldn’t believe the dignity and the strength that he showed. He showed me so much. It was unreal. He made me a better person.”

Married to Patricia, Laplante lives in Richmond. His other two children, Carol and Bob, are grown and work in their chosen professions, giving Laplante some free time to enjoy other endeavors.

Retiring from teaching in 2004, he was far from finished being active, even continuing another career.

“While I was teaching, I got a job as a part-time police officer. That grew into a field of its own, and I worked 29 years in law enforcement. When I retired from teaching, I was hired as a detective. I did that until 2009. In 2009, I went to work at the Spurwink School, working with kids who need a lot of attention. I did that for three years to get to 40 years in teaching.”

Football still called out to Laplante, who coached the middle school program in Augusta, working to get those players ready for the varsity experience at Cony High School.

“I have seen kids in the middle school who are now on the high school team at Cony. It is fun to see those kids come along.”

As far as the Mt. Ararat football job, Laplante remembers an experience while on the sidelines for Cony.

“Three years ago I was at Cony and we played at Mt. Ararat in a preseason game, and we were in the locker room. I stepped outside and I am thinking to myself, ‘I love the setting here.’ Then we played the kids and I loved the attitude of the Mt. Ararat kids and the fans. And the strong academics here was great to see. Athletics are valued, definitely, but they have a place in the academic curriculum, something that I have always believed in.

“There are very few kids that will play college football, and even fewer that will play professional football. They all need to earn a living after getting out of high school and college. I have taught in the classroom for 40 years, so I have a strong attachment to academics, which drew me here when the job opened up.”

During the months prior to his team’s first practice, Laplante met with the coaching staff that worked under previous Eagle coaches Mark LaFountain and Frank True. He offered each of them the chance to return to the fold, looking to keep a bit of consistency in his first staff. Three returned while two elected to move on to different things.

Laplante had the chance to work with his incoming Eagles during the week-long Eagles Football Camp in late July, then came Monday, Aug. 15 — the first day of fall practice. Immediately, Laplante wanted to see what kind of attitude his young Eagles came to the field with. So far, he has been impressed.

“This is the most fun that I have ever had coaching. You walk into this situation and the attitude these kids have, you thank the big guy for this one. I have seen coaches who dreaded going to practice with the people that they had to deal with. Not like that here. From the youngest freshmen to most experienced seniors, they have great attitudes.

“I want to see these kids have good attitudes, then secondly you want to develop a culture year after year, getting that winning attitude. Most importantly is character. We teach them character and want them to show that character. They are role models. It is our responsibility to be role models. When I see our kids walking down the hallway at the Maine Mall with their Mt. Ararat Tshirts on, I want people to say ‘there is a classy outfit there.”

As per Maine Principals Association rules, football coaches are required to follow a strict guideline on when players are ready and permitted for contact. Rules concerning concussion protocol and heatstroke/heat exhaustion, are followed closely. In fact, it was the fifth day of practice before Laplante’s Eagles hit each other for the first time.

On Monday, Mt. Ararat hosted Hampden Academy in a controlled scrimmage, and on Friday the Eagles visit Fryeburg Academy (4 p.m.) for a preseason game.

“We had our first real contact, and what I saw is a group of kids that just want to win. They give it all that they have. Physically, they may not be the most dominating team. We imagine that it is a giant puzzle, having to put the right people in the right places, then finding the right offense and defense that gives them a chance to win.

“Kids today with results of their experiences try to achieve as much as they can. We tell them that we want each of them to come off the field each day better football players then they were the day before. We have people that are doing that. Team unison will get you the wins.”

As far as the product on the field come opening night — Friday, Sept. 2 at home against Noble followed a week later at home against York — Laplante has realistic goals leading into opening night.

“Those first scrimmages are when you really get your wings out and when you want them to make the mistakes so you can fix it. The regular preseason game on Friday against Fryeburg, that is when we start disciplining itself.”

In Week 3, Mt. Ararat visits Gorham, followed by a big test at Falmouth in Week 4. The Eagles host Kennebunk on Oct. 1, visit Biddeford Oct. 7 and Greely Oct. 14, before hosting rival Morse on Oct. 21 in the regular-season finale. Laplante is looking for consistency, both from his team and from himself.

“Noble and York are models of consistency, along with Kennebunk and Biddeford. It will be a challenge for us, but that is the fun part. We have those first two games at home, giving us a familiar atmosphere before going on the road. We get the home fans the first two games, which is big.

“For myself and my coaching staff, I just want us to be consistent, be that consistent voice for these young men. Whatever happens, we want to remain classy and play to the best of our abilities. If we that, we can be proud and know that we represented this program with dignity.”

One thing is for sure, Laplante is ready for this monumental challenge. In the grand scheme of things, this one might be the easiest to attain.