Rick Marcella - Head Coach

Head Football Coach Rick Marcella has had a highly successful teaching and coaching career at Bridgton Academy.  Currently in his 22st year here, Coach Marcella was introduced to Bridgton while serving as a graduate assistant at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), where he earned his master's degree in educational supervision, and coached the quarterbacks and receivers on the football team.  In recruiting prospective student-athletes from Bridgton Academy for CCSU, he worked with Tom Austin, the Academy's head football coach at that time, and now a development officer here.

"Bridgton Academy alumni did exceptionally well at CCSU," Coach Marcella explains. "Academically, they were well-prepared, and athletically, they were bigger, stronger, and acclimated to living away from home."In 1986, he joined the Bridgton Academy family as a teacher, coach, dorm parent, and advisor.  During his first year, Coach Marcella coached the defensive backs and wide receivers on the Wolverine football team, and became the defensive signal caller the following year.  When the head coach at that time accepted a position at Bowdoin College, the headmaster immediately appointed Coach Marcella to the head coach position at Bridgton without considering any other candidates; as he said to Coach Marcella, "You're my guy."

Prior to coming to Bridgton Academy, Coach Marcella was a graduate assistant at Central Connecticut State University for three years after serving two years in a similar position at the State University of New York-Albany, where he coached the wide receivers. He began his college football career as a defensive back on the Huron College football team in Huron, South Dakota.  After one year, he returned to his hometown of Waterbury, CT, where he transferred to Mattatuck Community College.  During his two-years there, Coach Marcella played defensive back, captained his team, and received honors as the Defensive Most Valuable Player, and as a student-athlete listed in the book Who's Who in American Junior Colleges.  He then continued his education and earned a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Haven in New Haven, CT.  At UNH, Coach Marcella played two years as a defensive back on the football team, where he broke the school's record at that time for interceptions in a game with 3, and was honored as the ECAC Player of the Week in November, 1979. 

Originally from Waterbury, Connecticut, Coach Marcella played quarterback, defensive back, and halfback on the Wilby High School football team.  In addition to being named captain of his team during his senior year, he earned All-City and All-Valley honors in the Naugatuck Valley League.  He also played middle infielder on the baseball team.

When asked about his coaching philosophy, he said, "I strive to instill in each of our young men their responsibilities as both a student and an athlete, to encourage them to be leaders on campus, and to prepare them for collegiate competition.  At Bridgton Academy, you don't play for the fanfare; you play for the love of the game." During his 22-year tenure coaching football at Bridgton Academy, Coach Marcella has coached countless student-athletes who went on to achieve both college and professional success.  Many of these players stay in touch with him and honor him: Pamela Specht, mother of Justin Sands'01, created the Richard R. Marcella Award presented at graduation to a student "who, like Coach Marcella, possesses integrity, honesty, compassion, and a commitment to the pursuit of excellence in all areas of Bridgton Academy and beyond," and dedicated to both Coach Marcella and her son a lecture hall in the newly constructed Humanities Center called the Marcella-Sands Lecture Hall.

Currently, Coach Marcella lives in Bridgton with his wife of seventeen years, Liz, and two of their three sons.  Oldest son Michael is a 2000 alumnus of Bridgton Academy now living on the west coast, and younger sons Nick and Tony are destined to follow in the academic footsteps of their older brother and of their cousin, Michael Lacaria, a student in the Class of 2008, having been pre-enrolled in the Bridgton Academy Classes of 2010 and 2012. 

Matt Burgess - Assistant Coach

A Maine native, Coach Burgess graduated from Gardiner Area High School in Gardiner, Maine, where he played both football and baseball.  Following his high school graduation, he pursued a postgraduate year at Bridgton Academy, and based on his success both in the classroom and on the football field at BA, he was named the National Football Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

Coach Burgess earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was a three-year letter winner playing inside and outside linebacker on what was its Division II football program at that time (currently, Division III).  Later, he earned a master's degree in physical education management at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO, and served for ten years in various positions for the YMCA in Maine, Colorado, and Ohio.

Returning to his alma mater in 2001, Coach Burgess joined the football coaching staff, coaching linebackers and running backs, and is now responsible for the offensive line.  In addition, he serves as the assistant dean of students, teaches anatomy and physiology, and coaches a rugby program, which he started in 2003.  During the summer, he participates in both the Boston College and the Vermont All-Star football camps.  When asked about his coaching philosophy, Coach Burgess replied, "I like to keep coaching simple and consistent." 

Currently, Coach Burgess lives on campus with his dog, Scooby, who accompanies him in the sport of skijoring during the winter.

Patrick Shairs - Assistant Coach

Coach Shairs graduated from Sanford High School in Sanford, Maine, where he played football and competed on the track team.  Following his high school graduation, he pursued a postgraduate year at Bridgton Academy, and his success both in the classroom and on the gridiron earned him a scholarship to the University of Albany.  This success continued during his college career: he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English, completed an honors thesis, and earned credits towards his master's degree during his senior year. He also played outside linebacker on the university's Division 1-AA football team, which won the Northeast Conference Championships in both 2002 and 2003.

Returning to his alma mater after graduating from Albany this past spring, Coach Shairs joined the Bridgton Academy faculty as an English teacher, dorm parent, and as an assistant football coach responsible for coaching the defensive backs.

Currently, he is single and lives on campus.

Conor Sullivan - Assistant Coach

From Rye, New Hampshire, Coach Sullivan graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, where he competed on the football, wrestling, and baseball teams.  He earned a bachelor's degree at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he majored in history, minored in creative writing, and played four years as a defensive tackle for the White Mules football team under former BA Coach Tom Austin.  During his tenure, this team won the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005, with Coach Sullivan named co-captain of the 2005 squad.Now in his second year at Bridgton Academy, Coach Sullivan's football duties include coaching the defensive line and coordinating the special teams.  In addition, he serves the Academy as an English teacher, a college counselor, dorm parent in Holt Hall, and an assistant baseball coach.  When he is not teaching, coaching, counseling, and monitoring his dorm, Coach Sullivan enjoys following the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox.