The Winthrop boys’ basketball coach steps down after driving 7,400 miles last winter.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

WINTHROP – After less than one year of making the 60-mile round trip from his home in Jay to Winthrop High School, Steve Hamilton decided he’s seen enough of Route 133.

Hamilton resigned as Winthrop’s boys’ varsity basketball coach April 1, citing over 7,400 miles he’s traveled this past winter to and from practice, games and scouting trips.

“It was one of those things where the commute was pretty tough,” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t anything with the school. The people were great, the kids were great and the administration was terrific.”

“It wasn’t because I had conflicts or any other implications,” he added. “I though about it long and hard, and I gave myself until a week after (coaching in) the McDonald’s All-Star game to make a decision.”

Hamilton’s lone year in Winthrop was an interesting one. He took the job just before the season began and after stepping down after two years at Jay, where he still teaches, due to the lack of a teacher’s contract.

A perennial power in the Mountain Valley Conference, the Ramblers were pegged for a rebuilding year after losing nine seniors from their 2003 Western Class C championship squad.

But a 4-3 start, led by the conference’s top scorer, Matt McCarthy, raised hopes of another return to Augusta. McCarthy then broke his leg prior to a game against Livermore Falls, and the Ramblers lost nine of their last 12. Winthrop still made the playoffs, losing to Madison in the Western C preliminaries, and Hamilton earned MVC Coach of the Year honors.

“Without Matt, those kids really hung together,” said Hamilton, whose son Brad was an assistant at Winthrop, along with Tom Tucker. “We had some games we were in that we probably shouldn’t have been. For Brad and myself, working with Tom Tucker was a ball. The three of us got along great. It was a fun winter and I’m glad I did it.”

“Winthrop has a lot of talent coming,” he added. “They’re going to make a run here, maybe not next year, but in a couple of years, they’re going to be tough.”

Hamilton said he wouldn’t rule out returning to coaching. Jay reached a contract agreement with its teachers about a month ago “but that did not influence (why he stepped down at Winthrop).”

Regarding rumors about a possible return to Jay, Hamilton said, “I try not to get involved with all of that dialect. As far as I know, Mike Child is still the coach and I haven’t personally heard otherwise.”

“I’m not saying I’m never going to coach again,” said Hamilton, who won a state championship at Jay in 2002, “but it’s just not happening in Winthrop. I’m just kind of keeping my eyes and ears open.”

Jay posts all of its coaching positions annually and plans to fill those positions before the end of the school year, according to athletic director Kenric Charles.

rwhitehouse@sunjournal.com

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