Mt. Ararat Coach Frank True Retires, Leaves Program in Strong Shape
Frank True announced his retirement from coaching on December 4, 2025, concluding nearly two decades of work with Midcoast youth and high school football and two tenures leading Mt. Ararat. His departure leaves the Eagles with steady enrollment, an established culture, and the program's winningest record, matters that will shape the next coaching search and the county youth sports pipeline.
Frank True stepped down as head football coach at Mt. Ararat High School on December 4, 2025, ending a career that spanned youth leagues, prep schools, and more than a decade with the Eagles. True finished as the winningest coach in program history with 54 career victories across two head coaching stints, from 2011 to 2014 and from 2019 to 2025, and an earlier run as an assistant from 2005 to 2010.
True built much of Mt. Ararat's recent success after the program shifted from eleven player to eight player football. Since his return in 2019 the Eagles went 44 and 15, posted a winning record each season, reached the state championship game twice, and captured the 2019 eight player state title over Old Orchard Beach. Those results followed years of local coaching at Hyde School in Bath and with the Brunswick Area Youth Football League that helped supply talent and continuity to the high school ranks.
Community roots and player development framed True's account of his tenure. “When I took over, there wasn’t a lot of success at Mt. Ararat,” True said. “To be able to develop the kids and watch them be able to play JV games and play against their peers, and then start to have success at the JV level, as well as at the varsity level. The success of the kids and watching them develop into better football players and better young men, that’s what the special part to me is.” He emphasized the program's familial culture in describing why the work mattered to him.
Multiple factors influenced his decision to retire. True accepted a new position with High Tech Fire Protection, cited a desire to spend more time with family, and expressed confidence in the program's direction. “It’s time,” True said. “I’m leaving the program in a pretty good spot, where there’s plenty of talent still on the team, the numbers have been steady… the culture, everything there is in place now for a coach to be able to come in and take over a good situation.”
For Sagadahoc County the immediate implications are practical. Mt. Ararat reports roughly 30 players, a stable feeder system, and a winning culture that should attract qualified candidates. School athletics officials will oversee a coaching search that will determine whether the program sustains recent success and how it manages continuity at JV and varsity levels. True’s retirement closes a chapter in local football, while leaving a program positioned for an orderly transition and continued community engagement.
