Interview with Mr. LeBlond

By: Dominick Ward-Pistone

The year "two thousand" brings with it a milestone in Lewiston High School Hockey. Mr. LeBlond, who has been the Lewiston High School Hockey coach since 1989, announced that he would no longer be coaching the hockey team after this year. When asked why he would be stepping down, Mr. LeBlond said that it was so he could spend more time with his family. He points out that other parents his age are highly active in their children's extracurricular activities. His goal is to become involved in little league hockey, and other community organizations. He has not completely dismissed high school sports; he hopes to one-day return as a referee. When asked what events during his years of coaching have been most memorable to him, he replied, "The overall experience of coaching hockey has been memorable in and of itself. I would have to say the most memorable games have been those against Saint Dom's." He stated that out of the 25-30 games in which he coached against St. Dom's High School, only two games were really one sided. That kind of competition really makes the game interesting, in his eyes. The matter of who will be replacing Mr. LeBlond is currently undecided. However, he suspects that it will be either Mr. Dufour or Tim Smith, a teacher at McMahon Elementary School. Mr. LeBlond himself is an experienced hockey player. He played for both his high school and college team. He says that his love for athletics has been a driving force in his lifetime; he also feels that his duty in academics should always come first. It is his strong belief that 99.9% of the reason for joining a sports team should be for the fun of it, and for the skills acquired. "Sports gives you experience in life," he stated, "Some of the most important lessons I learned, I learned on the athletic field." Well, it has been a wonderful 11 years for the Lewiston hockey team; and with luck, there will be a wonderful 11 more. All in all, I would have to agree with just about everything Mr. LeBlond stated in the interview. I even agree on his views of which came first, the chicken or the egg. (The chicken of course!)