One of the plum Mountain Valley Conference boys’ basketball coaching vacancies has been filled with Edwin Thompson taking over at Jay, but two rival schools haven’t enjoyed the same good fortune.
Lisbon and Telstar posted their positions in the spring and fielded minimal response. Athletic directors at both schools don’t anticipate having a full-time coach in place until after the beginning of the school year.
Doug Sautter stepped away from the Lisbon program after guiding a senior-dominated squad to the preliminary round of the Western Class B tournament last February. Bill Caddigan bowed out after directing Telstar to the Western C quarterfinals in his only season.
“I’m thinking that people might not have applied because they thought we had someone lined up,” said Lisbon co-curricular coordinator Jeff Ramich, “but we didn’t.”
Ramich received two official inquiries, and one withdrew his name after accepting another job. Telstar AD Jim Lunney heard from only one interested party.
The remaining applicant at each school had no prior credentials at the varsity level and minimal junior varsity experience.
While the mid-November start of winter practice seems a world away, having a missing link in the chain of command during the summer could put both programs at a disadvantage in the ultra-competitive MVC.
Most high school programs are heavily involved in a summer program. Ramich said he was able to piece together a 10-game schedule for the Greyhounds. Lisbon graduate Tim Meyers is the interim coach.
Telstar junior varsity coach Dave Berry and former varsity skipper Mark Thurlow are trying to help the Rebels keep up with their neighbors.
“Dave is running the summer program for the high school, and Mark is trying to put something together for the younger kids,” Lunney said.
Continuity has been a problem for almost every boys’ basketball program in the Sun Journal’s tri-county area, with a majority of the 24 high schools experiencing at least one head coaching change over the last five years.
Mountain Valley, Dirigo, Livermore Falls, Lewiston, St. Dom’s, Telstar, Monmouth, Oak Hill, Rangeley and Poland all had new faces on the sideline in 2005-06.
Two of the most obvious reasons for the turnover are the ever-increasing spotlight, leading to higher expectations than ever, and what has become the year-round nature of the job.
“It’s a lot to handle. It’s really a job for a young person,” Lunney said, “but a lot of times they don’t have the experience.”
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