Mike Aveni took a break from football temporarily, but he has found his way back.
The former Silver Lake football coach stepped down from his position in June of 2015 to deal with family medical issues. Although his old job was filled by current Lakers head coach Chris DiGiacomo, who led the Lakers to an excellent 8-3 finish last year, Aveni has the opportunity to continue coaching in the Patriot League as the Scituate High Sailors football team’s new defensive coordinator.
The Sailors tend to have a strong football program. Since the MIAA playoff format was modified for the 2013 season, they have made it to the playoffs each and every year, but they have bowed out in the first round on each of those four occasions. Even so, they are a tough opponent; the last time they had a losing record was 2007. As their defensive coordinator, Aveni will try to capitalize on that prior success and implement more defensive schemes to help the team continue to grow and reach their maximum potential.
Aveni was the Lakers’ head coach from 2011 to 2014. In his final season, the Lakers finished out the year strong by winning three of their last four games. In the seven years prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator to former Lakers varsity football coach Dana Battista. Aveni got the Lakers head coaching job when Battista became the Pembroke High Athletic Director. In 2011, Aveni was set to take the offensive coordinator job at Pembroke High but when Battista stepped down from his post, Aveni interviewed for the job.
Since the Sailors are in the Patriot League Fisher Division and the Lakers are in the Keenan Division, the two squads are not scheduled to face one another during the regular season this fall.