TOPSHAM — There will be a new coach patrolling the sidelines on the basketball courts this winter for Mt. Ararat High School.

While he is new to the varsity head coaching position, David Dubreuil is a familiar face in the boys program.

The 2001 Mt. Ararat graduate began the 2018/19 season on Monday, holding his first practice/tryouts for the upcoming season. Dubreuil, the junior varsity coach the last three seasons for the Eagles, replaces Jeff Hogan at the helm after Hogan led Mt. Ararat last season.

“I want to continue building the program here in the community, from the Rec. program to high school and taking it to the next level,” said the lifelong resident of Topsham.

The program will have its third coach in three years, but Dubreuil is someone the players are very familiar with — and vice versa.

“I’ve known most of these kids since they were in Rec.,” Dubreuil said. “I became the jayvee coach

when these seniors were freshman, so with a lot of upperclassmen, they know my style of basketball.”

That’s not necessarily just the style of basketball on the court, but also Dubreuil’s style of coaching and communicating to his players, something he learned from many influences along the way. He played for former coach Warren Cossette and was an assistant for many years to former Mt. Ararat leader Aaron Watson, who coached the Eagles from 2003-2014.

“He is someone I’ve learned the most from,” Dubreuil said of Watson, now the athletic director at Noble High School, “Not just basketball, but how to manage situations within the team.”

Dubreuil, who lives in Topsham with his wife Sarah and two boys, Dylan and Dalton, has a focus on molding his team to work together.

“My main focus is team, everything together as a team,” Dubreuil said. “We practice as a team, we win or lose as a team, we’re going to play like a team. I have plenty of team building activities built into our schedule as it’s important for our success.”

Since he was worked with most of these players in the past, including coaching them during this past summer’s program, the coach feels comfortable about how the kids will adjust to another new coach, the Eagles’ third in the past three seasons.

“As a coach, I can put the X’s and O’s together for them, but they will then need to go out and execute,” Dubreuil, who works as a licensed producer with Horace Mann, True Educator Insurance said. “I need to make sure we are putting them in better positions to succeed on the court.”

With practices underway, Dubreuil will get his chance to do just that. Mt. Ararat begins putting all of its hard work together when the regular season opens on Dec. 7 against Leavitt, before playing “Battle of Bridge” opponent Brunswick on Dec. 11.

Dec. 14th will mark the first home game for Dubreuil when his Eagles host Kennebunk.

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