DOVER-FOXCROFT – When David Carey first took over the Foxcroft Academy boys basketball program for the 2001-02 season, he inherited an 0-19 team.

But after one year of growing pains, those Ponies flourished, as Carey guided Foxcroft to a 62-19 record, three Big East Conference Class B titles, four tournament berths and three regional semifinal appearances before stepping down after taking his team to the 2005 Eastern Maine Class B championship game.

It’s a similarly large challenge Carey now faces after agreeing to return as Foxcroft’s head coach after a one-year hiatus.

“This isn’t totally uncharted territory for me,” he Carey.

Carey replaces Jonathan Funk, who resigned recently because of a job promotion.

“Dave’s been through this before, so there’s no real learning curve,” said Foxcroft athletics administrator Tim Smith. “And there’s no question he’s had success as a coach.”

Foxcroft went 0-18 last winter, fielding a young, inexperienced team after graduation took a heavy toll and several underclassmen opted not to play basketball during the 2005-06 season.

The Ponies will be young again this season, with just two seniors returning to the team along with several underclassmen who saw considerable varsity duty a year ago. Foxcroft also may benefit in the longer term from some talented players in the younger classes. Smith said 13 incoming freshmen are slated to join the program this year.

“This will definitely be a challenge,” Carey said. “I had them for the first time [Monday] night and all we did was fundamentals and basics.

“We’ve got lots of flaws right now, but there’s some good young talent there.”

One major reason Carey opted to leave the program after the 2004-05 season was so he could watch his daughter Nycole play basketball at Penquis of Milo, where his family lives.

What he discovered during his season away from the sidelines was that there was time to do both, particularly when Carey learned after checking next year’s Penquis and Foxcroft basketball schedules that he could see 13 of his daughter’s games while still attending to the Ponies’ practices and games.

“I drove my wife and my daughter crazy last winter,” said Carey. “I’ve been doing this [coaching] for a long time, and I wasn’t filling the void just by going to my daughter’s games.”

Before taking over the Foxcroft boys team, Carey coached the Foxcroft girls squad for four years. During that tenure he led the Ponies to four straight trips to postseason play, including a berth in the 2001 Eastern B final.

Carey also has served as boys varsity coach at Penquis, where he starred during his playing days in the late 1970s.

John Kelly to be inducted

Former Camden-Rockport and Camden Hills varsity wrestling coach John Kelly is one of four people who will be inducted into the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, July 15, at the Hyde School in Bath.

Kelly will be joined in the Hall of Fame Class of 2006 by former wrestlers Brian Borkowski of Oak Hill of Sabbatus, Bill Brochu of Cony of Augusta and Jason York of Bonny Eagle of Standish.

In addition, Josh Pelletier, a recent graduate of Foxcroft Academy, will be honored as the MAWA’s wrestler of the year.

Kelly developed his alma mater, Camden-Rockport, into one of the premier programs in the state. While coaching the Windjammers between 1988 and 2002, Kelly guided his team to a 299-30 record, seven Class B state championships, 10 Eastern Maine Class B titles and seven Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference crowns.

Borkowski won the first individual state title in Oak Hill history in 1994, and went on to become a three-time All-New England honoree at Plymouth (N.H.) State during his college career.

Brochu was a three-time Class A individual champion for Cony during the early 1990s. He also won four Eastern A titles and three KVAC crowns while compiling a 118-12 record.

York was a two-time individual state champion in 1993 and 1994 for Bonny Eagle who also was a member of two undefeated state championship teams and two state runners-up. He went on to compete at Boston University, where he captained the Terriers for two years.

Pelletier capped off his stellar career at Foxcroft last March by winning the New England 275-pound championship. He was a three-time individual state champion for the Ponies, winning at 215 pounds in 2004 and 2005 and at 275 this year. He compiled a 113-11 career record, and helped Foxcroft win Class C state team championships in 2004 and 2005.