Lars Jonassen “retired” from coaching two years ago, handing over the reigns to Erskine Academy’s baseball program to assistant coach Mark Bailey. But he was never far from the baseball diamond.

Jonassen handled groundskeeping duties to stay involved in the program. Now he’s back in the dugout, replacing Bailey, the man who replaced him, as varsity baseball coach.

“Doran (Stout, Erskine athletic director) was having a hard time finding someone after Mark told him he wouldn’t be able to do it this year. So we thought we could give it another shot,” he said.

Jonassen still knows the program — which he ran for nine years as head coach in his first stint — and its players very well. Aside from keeping their home field in tip-top shape, he coached the junior varsity team the first year of his retirement to help with the transition and continued to follow the Eagles closely last year as they posted a 10-7 record and reached the Class B East preliminary round.

“I’m really excited just to be back,” he said. “I was born and brought up on the game in Fairfield. It was all we knew, all we had to do.”

“I’m having so much fun. We’ve got great kids,” he added.

Jonassen said he is optimistic about the Eagles’ prospects this season, although he’d prefer they fly under the radar while some other KVAC and Class B North contenders garner preseason attention. They graduated some key contributors, led by all-conference shortstop and pitcher Ryan Rodrigue. But they still have an experienced nucleus with five seniors and six juniors on the roster and good pitching depth.

“We should be pretty good. We’re going to be competitive,” he said. “Like everyone else, it depends on if our pitching holds up.”

The long-term future for the program looks bright, too, Jonassen said, as 35 players — most of them freshmen — came out for tryouts.

• • •

Gail Bucklin has plenty of coaching experience, just not exactly in lacrosse.

This season Bucklin, a fifth-grade teacher at Clinton Elementary School, will serve as head coach for the Lawrence High girls lacrosse team as the Bulldogs begin their first season as a varsity program. Bucklin, who also coaches junior varsity soccer and is an assistant coach with the girls basketball team at Lawrence, said she has been working hard to learn the game along with her athletes.

“This is a new sport for me,” she said. “I’ve done clinics and talked with other coaches quite a bit, but this is my first experience as a lacrosse coach.”

Fortunately for Bucklin, she does not have to search too hard to find a good resource. Shara MacDonald is a close friend and the head coach of the Erskine girls lacrosse team, which made the jump from club to varsity last spring.

“When there’s a new program coming in you help as much as you can,” MacDonald said. “Lacrosse tends to be more of a family-like thing. When Gail said she was interested in coaching I told her I’d help her in getting things together.”

MacDonald said the two went to a conference in Massachusetts in the offseason and she has been giving Bucklin advice where she can — just not too much.

“I told her I wasn’t going to give her enough to get my team in trouble,” MacDonald laughed.

• • •

Those familiar with the Winslow football team will see a lot of those same faces on and around the track this spring.

Running back/defensive back Nate St. Amand will be back competing in the sprinting events this season for the Black Raiders, yet now he will be joined by a number of teammates from the fall season, including full back/linebacker Kenny Rickard, wide receiver/corner back Dylan Hutchinson and 2015 Gaziano Award winner Alec Clark.

“It’s a really positive thing and they bring a sense of leadership just by being around,” said Winslow track coach Ken Nadeau, who is also an assistant coach on the football team.

In the past, many of the new additions focused exclusively on lifting during the spring at Littlefield’s Gym in Oakland, which is owned by Winslow assistant football coach Wes Littlefield. This spring, however, somewhere between six and 10 football players, according to Nadeau, elected to participate in track as well with some encouragement from he and Littlefield. It has resulted in the largest team Winslow has fielded in a number of years.

“I can’t thank him enough with how much he’s helping,” Nadeau said.

• • •

Tom Menendez is entering his eighth season as head coach of the Monmouth Academy boys and girls outdoor track teams, but for about one week this season he will have to say arrivederci to the Mustangs.

A member of the USA Track and Field Race Walking committee, Menendez was selected this winter to accompany 25 competitors as a coach for Team USA at the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships May 7-8 in Rome. Menendez said he would depart on May 1 and return eight days later.

“It’s basically the same as being a high school coach on a much more responsible and visible level,” said Menendez, whose role will range from setting up practice times to making sure athletes arrive on time and organizing sightseeing opportunities.

In the week Menendez is away assistant coach Norm Thombs will supervise the team, which has regular season meets during that time on May 3 and 9 at 4 p.m. at Telstar and Hall-Dale, respectively.

• • •

Monmouth Academy will not field boys or girls tennis teams this spring, athletic director Wade Morrill confirmed in an e-mail Tuesday.

Morrill said 51 student-athletes came out for track and field this season while baseball and softball each attracted about 20 players.

Messalonskee will not field a boys tennis team this spring as well due to low participation numbers coach Jeff Fowler said in an email.

“They may have a JV tennis team or a few players who play with another established JV team,” Fowler said.

Staff Writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this report.

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