Mike Ellis Jr. laughed that hearty laugh that comes so easy for him when told that he's failing at retirement.

Ellis was named the new head football coach at Fitch on Wednesday, more than a month after he stepped down at Waterford for family considerations.

"When I left Waterford, coaching wasn't part of my plans, but then everything just sort of lined up and fell into place," Ellis chuckled. "This is the only job where I could continue to coach and be where my oldest daughter, Carolyn, is going to school.

"One of my goals when I left Waterford was that I hadn't see Carolyn run a cross-country meet in her career. I wanted to make sure I did that. It was the one place where I could get both of them done."

Ellis spent 14 years with Waterford football, including 12 as head coach. He had a 60-62 record and coached the Lancers to two of the program's three postseason berths. He stepped down on Dec. 17, 2014.

"Mike has shown a commitment to supporting the academic, community and athletic interests of his football program," Fitch AD Marc Romano said in a statement. "We are excited for the future of Fitch football under his leadership.

"Mike is a great teacher and a tremendous mentor who conducts himself with great class and integrity."

Ellis teaches math at Waterford and lives in Mystic. And Ellis, a 1988 Stonington graduate, was around the program when his dad Mike was Fitch's coach from the late 1970s through 1991.

"(Fitch) is where I grew up," Ellis said. "My grandfather played there in 1929. My dad (Mike Sr.) played there in the early sixties. I grew up there on the sidelines. My whole time growing up through grade school, middle school, high school and part of college was going to Fitch. I've always had that with me. That was appealing to me.

"That, along with the combination of my daughters being at the school and allowing me to be close to them and see things that they do (appealed to him). My wife, Tina, was also behind it. She was positive about it."

Ellis takes over for Jordan Panucci, who was let go after two seasons this past December. The Falcons finished 0-11 last year.

"My biggest goal is to get the numbers back up in the program," Ellis said. "I think there are students walking around that school that could play football and didn't play football. One of my goals in the offseason is to see if I can beef those numbers up.

"One thing that always impressed me when I looked at Fitch on film and when I played them is that they always played hard. The problem was that they just made too many mistakes. We have to refine that and continue to play hard, and hopefully that gets games going in our favor."

Waterford has yet to choose a replacement for Ellis.

n.griffen@theday.com

Twitter:@MetalNED