LEBANON — Lebanon High athletic director Mike Stone found his next head football coach during halftime of a recent Raiders boys lacrosse game. His oblivious prey was wearing zebra stripes and carrying a whistle.
Herb Hatch, one of that day’s referees, was last a gridiron assistant coach in 2016 and hadn’t been a head man in the sport for 23 years. Hanover High’s football and lacrosse coach during the early 1990s, he’d retired to Bradford, Vt., while continuing to officiate lacrosse and enjoy his grandchildren.
“Mike asked what I was doing in the fall,” the 68-year old Hatch said with a chuckle. “The next day, he called and we talked for an hour. I was ready to negotiate my butt off, but he said they had nobody else they were considering. I told him that wasn’t going to help his negotiation.”
Said Stone: “We needed somebody with experience who can bring other coaches along and has the perspective about what a program should look like. What it boils down to is we were running out of time.”
The Raiders job had been open since February, when previous coach Chris Childs stepped down after 15 years, a 77-55 record and the 2010 NHIAA Division IV title. Childs, who will coach New Hampshire in the annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl game in August, said he waited nearly four months after last season’s conclusion because he was unsure if his son, graduating senior C.J. Childs, would choose to attend college and play football.
When C.J. Childs announced he intended to play at Castleton (Vt.) University, his father resigned to have time to watch him and the Spartans. His exit also ended the team’s thrice-weekly weightlifting and conditioning sessions that were held at 6 a.m. throughout the winter and spring.
Childs’ move didn’t catch many involved with the Lebanon program off-guard, said current junior Tanner Ames. He was one of about 15 boys to attend a gathering in the school cafeteria Tuesday to meet Hatch and four men likely to be on his staff. Among them were Doug Johnson, a former Hartford High and Dartmouth freshman team assistant, and line boss Brandon LaHaye, the lone holdover from Childs’ staff.
“I wasn’t surprised because (the coaches) kind of alluded to it throughout last season,” said Ames, a starter in a program that will graduate 13 seniors after going 9-1 last season and reaching the NHIAA Division II semifinals. “Losing that many seniors is going to make things more difficult, but we’ll do the best we can.
“We’re going to have a lot of kids who haven’t played football before who are going to try out. Our skill positions will suffer, but I’m pretty happy with how our line is looking.”
Among those graduating are two-way starters Jack Stone (QB/DB), C.J. Childs (LB/RB), Nyeoti Punni (RB/DB), Cole Shambo (LB/RB), Zach Whitcomb (C/DL), Cam Davio (G/DL) and Connor Brown (G/DL). All but Shambo, who’s entering the workforce, plan to play college sports in the fall.
Ames, who’s played tight end and defensive end, Sawyer Beaulieu, a cornerback, and Keegan Frechette, an offensive tackle, are among the only returnees with significant starting experience.
Hatch professes to know what he’s getting into, which includes a supply chain in which the Lebanon Middle School team struggled mightily last autumn. The coach said that whereas in the past he would have insisted on having a hand in every detail, he’s now ready to delegate.
“That’s not a word I’m used to using, but I’m looking forward to a group effort,” said Hatch, who’s known as gregarious, vocal and intense and who was a senior football player at Norwich University when Stone was a freshman on the same roster.
“My ego’s out the door now that I’ve been … years in mothballs. But it all comes down to fundamental skills, which haven’t changed.”
What will change is the Raiders’ summer and preseason preparations. Childs orchestrated specific football weight-room sessions and skills drills as well as passing and linemen competitions against other teams. Those days appear over.
Hatch said he now wants Lebanon players to use the services of physical education teachers, who will have the weight room open three days a week from 3-5 p.m. for any student-athlete who wants to show up. The coach said he hopes a football coach in attendance will be able to extend those sessions to 7 p.m., if possible.
“I’m not going to be there for all the summer workouts,” said Hatch, adding that who will oversee activities like fundraising, equipment oversight, pregame meals and concession sales remains undecided. “We’ll try to have a coach at each one, but the school has the two physical education guys. We’re not going to do any football-related stuff this summer.
“We’re asking the kids to show up three times a week and do (strength and conditioning) work on their own. I put the onus on them to show up Aug. 12 in great shape, rested and happy.”
Hatch said this approach will allow players and coaches to get to know each other in low-pressure settings during June and July and for the latter to assess what’s available in terms of size, speed and agility. The coaches will come up with offensive and defensive schemes tailored to players’ talents and won’t begin installing them until preseason practice begins.
“The key is finding an offense that fits you, not vice versa,” Hatch said. “We’re not necessarily going to do things the way they were done last year.”
Hatch’s timeline seems compressed, particularly when considering that Lebanon is one of Division II’s smallest schools and will feature so many new starters.
“That’s a concern of other people, but I see it differently,” Hatch said. “Installing an offense and a defense is the easy part. We have a group of kids who are eager to learn, and we have to find them roles and positions that they’re physically able to handle.”
Hatch retired eight years ago as an alternative education teacher at Kearsarge High, where he also served a successful stint as the boys lacrosse coach and the football team’s defensive coordinator. He also coached football and/or lacrosse at Hanover, New England College, Norwich University and Colby-Sawyer College.
Hatch said he was once Mascoma’s athletic director for two years. His last football experience was a single season as Oxbow’s 2016 defensive coordinator. He said his last football head-coaching experience came during the 1998 and 1999 seasons at Milford (N.H.) High
“I miss working with kids, and I think they’ve become different nowadays,” Hatch said. “Kids are sullen and walking around with their heads down. They’re not as happy and excitable, and they need to be.”
Hatch said he foresees himself at Lebanon’s helm for two or three seasons before handing the job off to one of his assistants. For now, however, all eyes are on him in a high-profile position atop a program that’s gone 31-8 the last four years.
“I was initially overwhelmed and doubtful whether I could do it or not,” said Hatch, adding that he sought input from several current and former high school football coaches around his age.
“Football’s a beast, but Mike’s support and how things have become clearer during the last couple of weeks are making me feel a little more comfortable about taking the position.”
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.