The only plans Gary Upham had to coach this season were working with his daughter’s peewee basketball team in Thomaston.

That all changed in a hurry though. Just a week before the high school basketball season officially began, Buckfield, where Upham was the school’s new guidance director, suddenly needed a basketball coach.

Mike Child had taken the boys’ job at Jay, leaving the Buckfield girls’ team without a coach with the first practice only days away.

“It was weird,” said senior Chelsea Allen. “I’m kind of expecting things like that because I’m a senior and I’ve had three different coaches. It was a big surprise for everyone. We didn’t really know where to go from there.”

The Bucks didn’t have to look far to find a quality candidate. Upham was the junior varsity coach at Maranacook last year and had successful stints at George Stevens Academy and Central. In fact, Allen had heard about Upham’s coaching credentials, even before a new coach was needed.

“I actually went up to his room one day, and he had talked about how he had coached before,” said Allen. “It never occurred to me at the time that he would be our coach.”

Upham had left a job in guidance at Maranacook to go to Buckfield. He had hoped to find a high school coaching job at some point but had figured this year wasn’t an option.

“It was a great fit and at the right time,” said Upham. “Being a basketball coach, I was interested in finding a school that would allow me to coach and work in guidance. It’s a way I can get through to kids in addition to being a guidance counselor.”

The fact that many of the players already knew Upham certainly helped the transition. The hiring of a familiar face, with a coaching background, helped turned a negative situation into a very positive one.

“I was walking down the hall and the athletic director told me,” said Allen. “It kind of took me by surprise.

“It was really awesome. I think that’s the best thing they could have done. He’s a very good coach.”

Upham inherits a team that lost six seniors and only returns a few players that saw time last year. With just 10 players on the squad, there isn’t enough for a JV team and a number of underclassmen are getting a baptism by fire at the varsity level. Some freshmen have even quit because they weren’t ready for the varsity level.

“It is not so much of a challenge because I’ve done it for years,” said Upham about coaching basketball. “The biggest challenge is the numbers. We’ve only got 10 players here. The real challenge is to get kids to understand that I know the game and give the time to develop my plan.”

It hasn’t been easy when he was hired just a few days before the season began. Between scheduled scrimmages and practices lost to the recent storm, it hasn’t been easy for players and coach to familiarize themselves on the court.

“It’s been real tough,” said Upham, whose team played Waynflete Tuesday. “We’ve got four games this week. So there isn’t much time to develop my philosophy.”

Buckfield opened the season Friday night in a 65-15 loss against a powerful Rangeley club.

The Bucks would be hard-pressed to challenge the Lakers under any circumstances but considering the last-minute changes in the program, it was an uphill climb all the way.

“We played a pretty good first quarter but just on sheer energy and desire on their part,” said Upham. “If I’d had them for three or four weeks, we might have been able to do better.”

Upham has faced rebuilding situations before. When he went to Central, he took over a struggling program and took them to the playoffs that year.

“When I was at Central, they had won (one game the year before), and I took them to the tournament with a team of juniors and sophomores,” he said.

He spent three years at Central, including seasons of 12-6 and 10-8 records. That was after a four-year stint at George Stevens where his teams went 50-18 and were ranked first or second each season.

With a number of teams in the EWC losing talent, the Bucks could conceivably work their way to a playoff berth, but for now, Upham is trying to keep things simple.

“My gameplan was to look at what we have for a program and get them to play above themselves and get to the point where they have some confidence,” he said. “We want to make sure that the kids have a good effort and good sportsmanship and have a good attitude.”

Allen is the lone senior on the club and Ashley Dudley is the only junior. With a squad built around sophomores and freshmen, there is a core group for Upham to work and build with. Shayna Shackford, Desiree Brackett and Tiffany Dunn all contributed as freshmen last year.

“I’ve got some talent, but it’s young talent,” said Upham. “By the time they’re seniors, they’ll be a team to look at, but it’s tough when you’re a freshman to come in and play at the varsity level.”