AUBURN — Shon Collins knows hockey. He knows the Edward Little hockey program, the Poland/Gray-New Gloucester program and, to some extent thanks to some recent research, the Leavitt hockey program.

When the Edward Little/Leavitt girls’ ice hockey team (known as the “Leavitt-Little Red Hornets”) needed a coach, Collins was an obvious name for a short list of candidates.

But first he had to put his name in the hat.

“I did debate it a little bit,” Collins said. “It’s a significant commitment, not just in time but in emotional energy. When it came down to it, I looked at everything and knew that I could devote the time and energy I needed to.”

That’s all Leavitt AD Jeff Ramich and Edward Little AD Dan Deshaies needed to hear. Collins will lead the 2012-13 edition of the Red Hornets.

“We wanted someone who would be willing to work the team hard,” Deshaies said. “We know the team has talented players, and we wanted a coach who we thought would get the most out of them, treat them not only like girls, but as hockey players.”

There was an air of familiarity about Collins for both Deshaies and Ramich. Collins has been an assistant coach for the Red Eddies’ boys’ team, as well as the Poland/Gray-New Gloucester Patriotic Knights. Ramich spent a year as the AD at Gray-New Gloucester.

“He’s great with the kids; he’s a great motivator and very good technician,” Ramich said. “He’ll be good for the team, for morale and hopefully lead the team to bigger and better things.”

Collins replaces Eric Geoffroy at the helm and will inherit a team that last year had an abundance of talent, much of it on the younger side.

“In that sense, I am very familiar with the team and with the girls on the team,” Collins said. “Not only from having been helping out the past couple of years, but I coached a fair amount of them through youth hockey in Auburn, too.

“I’m definitely excited about what we have for players on the team,” Collins added. “We have a lot of good players, and a lot of energy and a lot of potential.”

Maximizing that potential, Collins said, will be the key to the team’s success.

“The difficulty with a co-op team is always bringing two schools’ worth of players together,” Collins said. “You have to try to find chemistry between girls who are not necessarily around each other day in and day out. If we can build that chemistry, we’re going to have a good season.”

Asked whether the Red Hornets are next among local teams to bring home a state championship (Lewiston and St. Dom’s have both won the girls’ state title once), Collins was cautious.

“Right now, we have to win a playoff game first,” Collins said. “Let’s start there. We have a lot of girls on the team who can play, and the key is going to be expecting the best from every one of them all season long.”