After a six-year hiatus from the high school varsity coaching ranks, Mark Hundhammer is back as the new boys soccer coach for Brewer High School.

The former University of Maine-Machias men’s and women’s head coach, who last coached high school ball in 1994, will take over the reins from Mike Hammer, who resigned the post to become the principal at Winter Harbor Grammar School.

Hundhammer’s last varsity stint came in 1994, when he coached the Bangor boys to a 4-6-4 record. He served as JV girls soccer and basketball coach at Orono High School last fall before submitting his name for the Witches job.

“I think the kids they have at Brewer are really into the sport. They have a great turnout for the summer programs and they’re very committed,” Hundhammer said. “I think it’s a program that has a ton of potential.”

The fact his and wife Marjorie’s daughter Lynne will be starting school in the fall made this a good time for Hundhammer to return to high school coaching. Brewer’s closer proximity to his residence in Ellsworth and strong support from the school administration were other factors.

The 41-year-old Hundhammer works as a landscaper in Deer Isle for Mystic Stoneworks of Orland. He has maintained strong ties to soccer by working as a coach/instructor for Soccer Maine, an Olympic development program similar to the AAU offseason basketball program, the past six years.

The former collegiate player and current adult league player for Absolute Soccer can’t wait to get started with his new job.

“We have a team meeting August 12 and preseason starts the 13th,” Hundhammer said. “I’m most looking forward to the whole idea of building up the program.”

It’s a program Hundhammer is very optimistic about.

“I think we’ll be solid. We’ll be competitive, and maybe even a little scary toward the end of the year,” he said.

One down, three to go

Old Town High School has filled one coaching vacancy, but in the meantime, three others have opened up.

The Indians have a new field hockey coach, but are now looking for people to head up the varsity ice hockey, wrestling, and girls swim teams.

Former Orono field hockey coach Dodi Saucier will take over the same position at Old Town as former coach Julie Hammer, whose husband Mike recently became a principal in Winter Harbor.

Hammer is calling it quits after seven seasons to free up more time for her two daughters: 21/2-year-old Callie and five-month-old Katie.

Saucier, whose youngest daughter Elizabeth will be a junior at Old Town this fall, has been Hammer’s assistant for the last four years. Saucier’s oldest daughter Shaunessey also played field hockey and is entering the University of Maine this fall.

“She’s worked with me for seven years, the last four as my assistant and head JV coach, but I always said we were co-coaches,” said Hammer, who has no plans to resign her teaching (physical education) position at the high school.

Saucier is currently in Europe travelling with an all-star field hockey team.

Former Old Town ice hockey coach Dave Danielson has also resigned due to time constraints. After three years with the Indians, the first as an assistant coach, Danielson has found the demands of coaching and his job with James River Corporation in Old Town have become increasingly conflicting.

“It just got too hard, some weeks more than others. The early morning practices followed by 12-hour shifts [6 a.m.-6 p.m.] just made it unworkable,” Danielson said. “I just had to take into account what effect it had on the family.”

Danielson said he hates to give up coaching, but he feels good about the program’s returning talent and its future.

Tim Lecrone has stepped down from his job as girls varsity swim coach and English teacher after two years at Old Town.

“I just thought Old Town [school] was not the place for me. I’m just really open to getting into another line of work,” Lecrone said. “I’m not closing the door on anything right now, but I’m not really sure which direction I’ll go.”

Lecrone was also the boys JV soccer coach, but that position has already been filled by math teacher Sam Ferrell.

Keith Holland has resigned his jobs as Old Town’s wrestling coach and English teacher after three seasons to take a full-time teaching (English) position at Sanford High School. He will also be an assistant football coach.

Holland has no wrestling position now, but he said he’s more than interested if they need anyone. He’s also excited about moving to southern Maine.

“My wife and I decided we were going to look toward the south and this seems like a good move for us,” said Holland. “We do a lot of New England road races.”

Old Town athletic director Garry Spencer said all the positions are being advertised in-house and outside, but he doesn’t expect any hirings until mid to late August at the earliest.

“I won’t do anything until I go back to school on August 10,” he said.

Maryland, My Maryland

After eight months spent weeding 20 full athletic scholarship offers down to five, high school senior-to-be Nik Caner-Medley has made his decision.

The 6-foot-7 Deering of Portland forward has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Maryland, a Final Four participant last season, and play Division I basketball in the talent-rich Atlantic Coast Conference.

“He’d been offered close to 20 scholarships and he had it down to Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri and Kansas,” said Deering boys basketball coach Mike Francoeur, who estimates he talked to Terrapins head coach Gary Williams 30 or 40 times.

“I just got off the phone with coach Williams and they’re really excited about having him. He made it known Nik’s their No. 1 recruit,” said Francoeur. “[Connecticut coach Jim] Calhoun told me he’ll play in the pros and that he’s in the top five percent of high school players in the country.”

Francoeur said Caner-Medley, who will likely play both shooting guard and small forward in college, also had offers from Kentucky, the University of Southern California “and just about every team in the Big East.”

“I really thought that UConn might be a place he’d go to because of how close it was, then I thought Missouri because he really enjoyed his trip there, and coach [Roy] Williams was really after him at Kansas,” Francoeur said. “I think it’s a great choice. Now he’ll be able to relax and have fun his senior season. He didn’t want it all to be a distraction to his teammates.”

Caner-Medley, who is interested in studying communications, teaching and coaching, won’t be able to officially sign on with the Terps until November.

Francoeur called Caner-Medley the most highly recruited player ever to come out of Maine this early in his career.

“It was unbelievable,” Francoeur said about Caner-Medley’s collegiate courting. “It’s a process I’ll never be involved in again.”