Puck People, we have a problem.

It looks like a big one.

Let’s face it, the Nashua North-Souhegan hockey co-op has been, well, a nightmare.

A nightmare for Nashua athletic director Lisa Gingras, a nightmare for any of its coaches, and probably not as fun as it should be for its players and fans.

When Gingras and whoever is awarded the currently vacant Souhegan athletic director’s job collaborate on hiring a new Saber-Titans head coach, it will be the team’s fifth in the last five seasons. A turnover of brutal proportions.

The marriage between the two programs looked like it had all the makings of a winner when it was formed in 2015 to help keep both teams going. Nashua North had been moving in the right direction in Division I. Souhegan was a championship Division III program, four in the books, the last one coming in 2014.

The first coach hired, John Coughlin, seemed perfect. He coached at the one Nashua High School, and then Nashua South after the split. Plus, he later guided the Sabers to three straight titles from 2006-08.

After two tough seasons at the co-op’s helm, Coughlin was the victim of a parental uprising, an utterly shameful social media campaign that worked to drive him out.

A North former assistant, Pete Lacroix took the reins for the 2017-18 season. But he stepped down that following fall. Josh Lavoie, a former BG assistant, looked like a good choice. One and done as well.

And that brings us to last week’s news that Matt Osgood, who guided the Saber-Titans to their first tourney berth in the five years of the merger, was stepping down. Osgood is a superb coach, was this past season’s Telegraph Coach of the Year, and seemed to know the players inside and out.

Like Coughlin, he is old school, and thus made it pretty clear to the players – and parents – that it was his way or the highway. And instead it was him hitting the road, likely bound eventually for another coaching situation he’ll feel more comfortable in.

It’s too bad. Sure, there are all sorts of inside issues that unless you were in that locker room on a daily basis, you can’t even speculate about them. There were meetings, virtual or otherwise.

Gingras was adamant that she wanted him to stay. Obviously Osgood was adamant that if he stayed, he’d do it his way. Philosophical differences, etc., and he walked out on his own. It happens.

But it’s happening with this hockey program at a horrific rate. Is there a common denominator?

“I think there were different reasons,” Gingras said of each coaching situation. “But now it’s almost to the point, you have to wonder, is it the co-op or is it the sport?

“We’re scratching our heads.”

Hockey parents, she noted, are used to paying the freight for their kids to play from the youth level on up, so there could be some sense of entitlement. One hockey coach has made this observation: “The second you allow (parents) into the program, you’re done. They don’t let you coach. … It’s not your team anymore.”

It’s not the sport. Sure, there is coaching turnover in hockey, but not like this. Bishop Guertin’s Gary Bishop and Concord’s Duncan Walsh have coached at their respective schools since the game was invented, it seems. Exceptions, not the rule, but some longevity can be attained.

Here’s what we think: This particular co-op is a tough mix, for whatever reasons you want to attach. Souhegan athletes’ parents in general have always, since the school opened nearly 30 years ago, been a vocal and involved group. A coach has to handle not one but two different factions. However, there’s been no reported friction between the two athletic administrations, but one can see how some scenarios can be delicate.

So who knows? The North-Souhegan roster split, Gingras said, is about 50-50. There are two more seasons under the current co-op agreement, and the projected participation numbers will tell its future. One or both may be able by then to stand on their own.

Gingras and Osgood may have had their differences, but they certainly can agree on one thing: Five coaches in five seasons is not good for any team, in any sport.

If there’s one thing athletic directors really don’t enjoy doing, it’s having to search for a coach. Gingras admits that the turnover she’s seen over the recent years in the Nashua programs overall frustrates her, because she coached Alvirne girls volleyball for 13 years before taking the Nashua AD job. But also, keep in mind that the Nashua school district’s pay for coaches is absurdly low, one of the lowest pay scales in the state.

“The turnover I’m having in coaches,” she said in a very frustrated tone, “has got to stop.”

What advice would she have for the next North-Souhegan hockey coach? It’s likely the same she’d have for any other coach.

First is listen to the athletic directors, she said, who are trying to mentor if needed. But the second is interesting.

“Listen to the kids and parents,” she said, ” but not that they (coaches) should listen to what they want, but what they need.”

What North-Souhegan hockey needs is a good coach who has the players’ and the program’s best interests at heart.

Unfortunately it seemed they had one, and once again he got away.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251 or tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

Newsletter