The Bangor High boys soccer team returned to practice this fall with a purpose – defending the Class A state championship – and to a surprise.

Adam Leach, who coached the Rams to their first-ever Class A state title in 2006, has announced he plans to step down at the end of this season after nine years to focus on his young family.

“I want to be able to spend more time with my kids and my wife,” explained the 36-year-old Leach.

Leach and wife Deanna are the parents of 11-year-old Maren and 8-year old Matthew Leach.

“I’ve missed so much of what my kids have been doing. I’m getting to the age where my role has to be more active as a parent. I’ve hated having to tell them I’ve got to miss something they were doing because I had to go coach,” said Leach.

He added that his wife has spent nine years as a stay-at-home mom to give the kids a strong foundation “and now it’s my turn.”

Bangor athletic director Steve Vanidestine said, “It was a little bit of a surprise, but when he explained why, it was certainly understandable. He’s an excellent teacher and coach and he’s really come a long way.”

Leach, an Ashland native who teaches history at Bangor High, took over the Bangor program in 1999 when, as the junior varsity coach, he replaced Greg Sponberg one week before the season started.

He coached the Rams to a 92-21-10 regular-season record in eight seasons with at least nine wins per year. Bangor was 16-1-1 this fall, including the 1-0 double overtime win over Scarborough in the Class A state title game.

The Maine Soccer Coaches Association named Leach the state’s Large School Coach of the Year and he was also the Region I (New England) Large School Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Rams were ranked sixth in the final Region I soccer poll.

In assessing his career, Leach said, “The way I look at it, it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been really great. But the next part of my life will be great, too. I’m grateful for having had the opportunity to coach and be with all these guys but I won’t sulk about missing it.”

Vanidestine said he appreciated Leach’s willingness to work with the coaches of the other fall sports at Bangor, the fact that the program has had fewer yellow and red cards and displayed more sportsmanship over the years, the interest he took in the Rams’ summer programs and the way Leach dealt with the parents of the soccer players.

“There have been no questions on team selection year after year,” Vanidestine said. “He does a great job with the parents and communicating what he wants.”

Leach also coached boys soccer at Penquis of Milo and Brewer, and spent last spring as the softball coach at Hermon.

Leach is a 1989 Ashland High graduate who played on the Hornets’ 1987 Eastern Maine Class C title team. He also played for the University of Maine-Presque Isle.

Vanidestine said he’ll start the hiring process after the season.

“We have two or three people in the system now who we can look at,” he said. “We’ll see how the season goes.”

One of those people in the system is assistant coach Don Erb, a former Hermon High boys soccer coach.

Alumni game raises money

Around $10,500 was raised in memory of former Bangor High soccer player Danielle Thompson at the recent Bangor High School Alumnae/Varsity soccer game.

The money will go to the Danielle Marie Thompson Scholarship Fund, which will be awarded each spring to a student from Bangor High School who is active in school life and is pursuing a college degree.

Thompson was a student at the University of New Hampshire when she died Jan. 3 from bacterial meningitis. She graduated from Bangor in 2003 and played four years of soccer. She was also a cheerleader.

Around 30 Bangor girls soccer alumnae participated in the game against the current varsity team. Sarah Parcak and Kate Kotredes each scored a goal for the alumnae, who won 2-0.

More than 500 people attended the evening, which also included a silent auction.

This was the first year the game was held. Organizers said there will be a second game next year.

Sportswriter Larry Mahoney contributed to this report.