Lounsbury called “home” to Maine school

BRIDGTON, ME – When Jon Bon Jovi recorded the song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”, he sang about trying to get away from his roots but realizing that no matter what happened or where he went, the only place that he really wanted to be was back home in that old, familiar place. Jonathan Lounsbury knows what those lyrics are all about because, in a manner of speaking, he’s gone “home” to start the next chapter in his hockey life. At the beginning of July, Lounsbury, who had been playing professionally for the SPHL’s Huntsville Havoc until being released midway through last season, was named the new head coach at Bridgton Academy, a small prep school in Maine. It is a homecoming of sorts for Lounsbury who played at Bridgton in 2001 before heading out to the University of Southern Maine and the pros. “This (coaching) is something that I definitely thought would have been lucrative for my career and something that was the easiest transition from playing in the professional world to being a coach,” Lounsbury said in an recent interview. How Lounsbury ended up at Bridgton is a story of one kid’s desire to improve himself beyond his and others expectations. He started out in the youth programs in and around Winthrop, Mass. just beyond the skyline of downtown Boston. As he progressed into the program at Winthrop High School, he realized that what he was learning did not match his desire to learn. Although he excelled, Lounsbury knew that something was missing. “I needed something that was going to carry me to the next level. I needed a year of experience and I wasn’t knowledgeable about juniors,” he said. “A lot of prep schools had a lot to offer me and I think Bridgton put the best offer on the table. It had the college atmosphere – it was very much like college – and at the time (coach) Jamie Printz gave me the opportunity to come to Bridgton and I just had an amazing year here both athletically and academically.” Lounsbury said that while he was at Bridgton, he learned a “new approach to hockey” – an approach necessitated by the level of the opponents. He elevated his game and set the all-time scoring record for Bridgton. He carried the desire to USM and established scoring records there. Although there were opportunities for Lounsbury to head toward a Division 1 college, he credits Printz and Bridgton for steering him toward Southern Maine. “I think the biggest thing about Bridgton Academy – what it did for me – was that it placed me into a college program where he (Printz) knew I was going to excel. I could have gone to a Division 1 school,” he said. “I went to Southern Maine where it was going to be a good fit for me – where I was going to play as a freshman. I was going to make a difference and it certainly did. The way the system was, the way everything worked out just came out perfectly.” From Southern Maine it was on to the pros where Lounsbury signed with the Havoc. In Huntsville, he set a standard for scoring by a defenseman. An opportunity to move up to the CHL was derailed by a broken ankle suffered while he was in the training camp of the Colorado Eagles. He returned to Huntsville and picked right back up there, being named captain of the Havoc squad. Lounsbury’s release came as quite a shock to many people, especially since he had completely fallen in love with the city, its fans and the organization. “The city, the town, the organization itself kept bringing me back. Keith Jeffries runs an unbelievable organization down there and there’s no other way to put that,” he said. “I wanted to finish my career in Huntsville and it kind of deflated me. I knew my career was coming down to an end. My numbers had dropped statistically but the heart was still there and I was hoping to have another.” He finished the season in the EPHL in Danbury scoring 25 points in 18 games and “bringing back the love of the game” that he had lost after leaving Huntsville. In the meantime, Printz left Bridgton, opening up the head coaching job. Lounsbury applied and his connections to the school along with his impressive playing career and accrued knowledge quickly moved him to the top of the list. “We evaluated more than 75 applications ranging from candidates with coaching experience at the Olympic level to NCAA Division 1 to the professional ranks. To have Jonathan’s name rise to the top – and the be a Bridgton alum – is a good feeling all the way around,” Bridgton Headmaster Grady Vigneau said. “We are very excited to bring him on board and watch as he continues to build upon the fantastic work that departing Coach Printz has put in over the last ten years.” Lounsbury’s case was given a big boost by a fellow Winthrop native, former U.S. Olympic hockey captain Mike Eruzione. “Jonathan is a young, aggressive and hardworking coach with an impressive work ethic and remarkable character. Look for him to do great things,” Eruzione told the Bridgton staff. Lounsbury said that his confidence in his own abilities and the numerous connections throughout hockey gave him a leg up on the competition. “I have an extended network of contacts on where I can recruit kids from and pull kids in. I can get away from the New England region and bring kids in from across the country,” he said. “I think overall my confidence about taking this job is what helped me get it. I knew I could come in and I could build on a program that’s taken a step in the right direction.” That direction, which Lounsbury quickly credits his predecessor for initiating, is all about playing a schedule that is top heavy with games against junior-A programs with a few contests with prep schools mixed in. The scheduling combined with the opportunity to take college-prep courses makes Bridgton an ideal situation for kids looking to get into the top tier Division 1 programs. “What Jamie Printz did with this program was the best thing that Bridgton could have done. They went away from the prep school schedule and we play a junior-A schedule now,” Lounsbury said. “We’ll still play Phillips Exeter, Hebron Academy, Phillips Andover. We’ll play Cushing but we’re only going to play about ten maybe 15 of those games and the rest we’re going to play the Manchester Monarchs, the New Jersey Hitmen, the Boston Bulldogs. Everyone wants to play junior these days and if I can supply a junior schedule with college credit classes, it’s a no-brainer for some of these kids.” Beyond what happens on the ice, Lounsbury, who will serve as an admissions officer, is most excited about having the opportunity to work with the student-athletes and prepare them for their futures just as Printz and the Bridgton staff did for him. “Wins and losses are important but the most important thing for me at the position I’m in is college placement. If I can place my kids at all different schools and the schools they want to go to and be able to continue their hockey-playing careers, I had a successful year,” he said. “If I can just be instrumental in these young adults’ lives, that will be huge for me.” Which for a player, who by his own admission was an overachiever, may just be his biggest achievement of all. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com