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SKOWHEGAN — Gina Davis was one of the best players to come through Skowhegan Area High School’s illustrious field hockey program.

Now she’s taking over that program as Skowhegan’s first new head coach in over 40 years.

Davis was confirmed by the MSAD 54 school board Thursday as the River Hawks’ coach, following the school’s decision to not bring back Paula Doughty after 45 years at the helm, during which the program won 20 state championships.

Davis, who played for Skowhegan from 1994-97 as Gina Dinan, was a member of River Hawks (then Indians) teams that reached Class A championship games in 1994 and ’97, and was praised by Doughty for her work ethic more than a decade after she graduated.

After scoring 42 goals at Skowhegan —which ranked second all-time for the program when she graduated — and playing for Team USA at the Junior Olympics, she went on to a career at Boston College, where she played four years and served as a captain her senior year.

Davis declined comment on her hiring Thursday, saying her “priority and focus is on establishing communication and building relationships with the coaching staff, players and families before moving forward with any major media story.”

She’s a resident of Skowhegan, and works as a counselor at Vassalboro Community School.

“She played in our program, she’s from the community, she played at a high level, trained at a high level,” Skowhegan athletic director Nick Wallace said. “Her playing at Boston College, her playing with the USA Field Hockey program growing up, that brings a wealth of knowledge and skill level. And it also gives her a little bit of clout, like, ‘Hey, I’ve been here, I’ve done this. I know what it takes.'”

Davis also worked as a field hockey official for five years, which Wallace, a former basketball coach and referee, said was a draw when the school was considering her.

“It just gives you a different perspective,” he said. “(There’s) how the refs see the game, how the fans see it, and you can almost hear what some of the coaches are saying, and their perspective on things.”

Davis replaces Doughty, who took over the program in 1981 and won 644 games and 28 regional titles, and became the championship standard for high school field hockey in Maine. The River Hawks made the Class A title game last year, and played in every state final from 2001-23.

Wallace, though, said any pressure or expectations that come with taking over such a successful program didn’t come up in the hiring process.

“We didn’t look at anything in the past. We try to look forward, what can we bring that’s going to help this program continue to grow?” he said. “She has an outlook where she wants to make it her own. It’s a great tradition at Skowhegan field hockey. Obviously, she wants to continue that winning culture and have her own spin on how the team is coached, how she wants things to run (and) making connections with the kids.”

MSAD 54 superintendent Jon Moody said he “wasn’t involved in the process” of picking Davis, but that her Skowhegan background aligns her with most of the school district’s hirings.

“Always, with every job,” Moody answered when asked if her local history was an added benefit to her hire. “I think 72% of our employees either live in the district currently, or were from the district, graduated here and left.

“A lot of people come back and come home, and that definitely is a priority for the board. If candidates are equal otherwise, we would hire someone who’s local.”

Moody, who played college golf at UMaine Farmington and coached varsity baseball at Messalonskee, said he expects Davis’s experience of playing the sport at a high level will help her establish a rapport with her players.

“I’m sure it would,” he said. “And she is a guidance counselor and a teacher by trade, and so she’s going to understand that social and emotional side too, for sure.”