Shawn Roderick’s son, Austin, was never much of a runner. He’s a hockey kid, through and through.

But at the beginning of seventh grade, he wanted to join the cross-country team. He wanted “to run for Mr. Lajoie.”

Austin made a popular choice. The Maranacook Middle School cross-country team that Matt Lajoie coaches has a roster of nearly 50 students. At most meets, Maranacook’s team outnumbers several other schools combined. And those students are spread out from the front of the pack to the back.

“I try to make it a welcoming environment,” Lajoie said. “I talk to the parents, talk to the kids and let them know that it can be as competitive — or not — as they want it to be.”

His recruitment starts even before students get to sixth grade. Lajoie, 39, serves at the Readfield-area school district’s elementary school physical education teacher — a position he fell into after nearly a decade working on offshore oil rigs, a couple years running a kids’ gym in Farmingdale and one COVID-riddled year working as a classroom teacher at Maranacook Middle School.

“When I worked offshore, I helped train a lot of people, and it’s something that I found I really enjoyed and had the patience for,” Lajoie said. “I really enjoy seeing people succeed and helping them be successful any way they can, and teaching felt like a natural fit.”

Success differs from student to student, and he said a good coach realizes that and encourages effort, not stress.

Lajoie’s involvement goes beyond the Maranacook schools, too. He’s on the Readfield recreation committee, and Roderick, the Regional School Unit 38 school board chair, said he can sometimes be found “raking fields, picking up trash or lending a hand wherever he is needed,” without ever seeking recognition.

And through his own humility, he manages to make each student feel special — no matter what place they finish in.

“Austin would come home and be like, ‘Mr. Lajoie can’t believe that I caught my time by so much,'” Roderick said. “I don’t think running, deep down, is enjoyable to Austin, but because he’s running for Mr. Lajoie, it is enjoyable. He just gets so excited for the kids.”

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