It might have been something she said. It might have been her actions.

As Mary (Gill) Herrick coached her subvarsity soccer or basketball teams, she’d realize she was becoming her former coach.

Herrick played four years for Gavin Kane at Dirigo. Little did she know how those experiences would follow her while coaching in Skowhegan years later.

“I’d be coaching on the sidelines, saying all the things he’d say to us, like ‘Get a stop’ or ‘Down in a stance,'” said Herrick. “It was kind of like when I find that I’m turning into my Mother. I’m like ‘Oh My God, I’m turning into Gavin.'”

Herrick’s own mother noticed that Mary’s mannerisms were even similar, commenting “‘You’re like a little Gavin out there, Mary.'”

Herrick coached soccer for three years and basketball for two before starting a family.

“I realize now how lucky the Dirigo program and myself was to have him as a coach,” said Herrick. “Seeing other coaches and being a coach myself, it’s hard to find someone of that quality. I realize how lucky I was to be one of his players.”

Kane ended his amazing tenure as the girls’ basketball coach in September, deciding to only coach the boys’ team. During his 13 years, the Dirigo girls’ made Maine basketball history with 11 straight regional titles and collected six Gold Balls, turning a program with faded glory into a powerhouse. Yet, wins and trophies were a mere result of Kane’s work. It was his players that were most important and many now carry lessons he taught.

“Coach Kane is amazing at what he does,” said Rebecca Fletcher, a former player and current assistant to Kane since the 1999-2000 season. “I respect him more than anyone in any other profession, for his passion, his commitment, his striving for excellence and perfection and his concern for others. I learn from him every day.”

Kane’s program sent an abundance of players to the next level, including top programs in the country in Division III, but players that followed his footsteps shine a light on his work more than the sheen of any Gold Ball.

“The opportunities and experiences playing basketball for Coach Kane are irreplaceable and unforgettable,” said Mallory Child, the JV girls’ soccer coach at Dirigo and Elementary Education major at UMF. “Coach Kane went above and beyond to make sure we experienced the most we could. Now as a coach, I make sure to go out of my way to help my players and give them opportunities they may never have.”

Herrick, Child and Fletcher are former Cougars-turned-coaches. Gretchen (Curtis) Errington coached JV basketball at Jay and was the Dirigo field hockey coach for three years. Michele Gagnon is an assistant basketball and field hockey coach at Oxford Hills while her sister Tara was a middle school coach in Auburn before starting her family. Sheena Weston has joined the coaching staff at the University of New England as an assistant.

They may not put “Wooly Bully” or “Bad to the Bone” on pregame playlists, staples in the Kane repertoire, but many sing the same tune when preparing and teaching players. Dirigo success was born from dedication, hard work and commitment, all things that epitomized the Cougar in charge.

“Coach Kane is absolutely the most detail-oriented coach I have ever been associated with,” said Fletcher. “He is incredibly organized. He puts his all into everything he does. He is a perfectionist, holding himself to the highest standards. He does not accept mediocrity. He actually can not stand the word itself.”

Kane traveled the state to scout opponents, even scouting Calais one year, even though Dexter was a heavy favorite to win Eastern C. He’d provide the most extensive scouting reports and a game plan pages long, crafted specifically for each opponent. Fletcher says her practice schedules, scouting reports and halftime talks are influenced by his work.

“The work ethic that he taught us as players, I still use every day of my life,” said Herrick, who teaches fifth and sixth grade in Skowhegan. “I’m a teacher and there are days where I’m like “Holy Moly, what am I doing?’ but you’ve got to push through it.”

A by-product was Dirgo’s tenacity on defense. Defenders chased the ball with more fury than a bride at a Filenes’s wedding dress sale. Fletcher says most successful programs in the state now play the style Kane introduced to the Cougars 13 years ago.

“Before Coach Kane, defense was what our team did when we didn’t have the ball,” said Fletcher, who teaches at Dirigo. “It was time waiting to get the ball back. With Coach Kane, defense was our offense. It was the part of the game in which we would outwork most opponents. We took pride in earning every elusive five-second call and every turnover the ball handler made in the backcourt.”

Kane delivered a new level of confidence and motivation. Hoping for respectable showings and avoiding embarrassment wasn’t the goal anymore. The Cougars competed to win. He made players believe in him and subsequently in themselves.

“From watching him on the sidelines, I have learned that it doesn’t do any good to get wound up and show your players you’re unsure of yourself or of them,” said Fletcher. “Players need to see the confidence in yourself, that you’ll know what to say in a timeout that will make the difference, that you’ll know what call to make. They need to see you believe in them as well.”

His first state title in 1996 was predicted to be a Calais blowout. Kane kept the Cougars composed and a Herculean effort by Fletcher lifted Dirigo to the win. He lost a talented senior class in 1999. Dirigo’s demise was expected, but the Cougars went undefeated before losing in double overtime to Calais in the states. Dirigo did the same in 2004 after losing eight seniors. In 2005, after losing to Dexter the previous year, Dirigo beat the Tigers at the buzzer. Kane’s game plan proved to be a masterpiece. His kids believed in it and executed it to perfection.

“When I reminisce about 2005, I can’t help but feel Dirigo girls’ basketball owes Coach a big “Thank you,” said Fletcher. “I know he wasn’t on the floor, didn’t take a single shot, get a rebound or make a defensive stop, but he orchestrated the victory.”

Success was a product of his efforts, but so are the coaches that he groomed.

“Coach Kane had nothing but a positive impact on me as a coach,” said Child, who coached middle school basketball last winter. “Whenever I look to improve my coaching abilities, I always use Coach Kane as an example because he is at the highest level of coaching and although I work extremely hard, I don’t think I will ever reach that level. I love that he has set a high level for me, because I can always strive to reach it.”

Trying to walk in his shoes, former players have a renewed respect for what Kane achieved.

“I knew he was a good coach,” said Herrick. “I had a whole new respect trying to be a coach, realizing that he kept producing team after team. It didn’t matter if he had all-star players. It was his coaching. I find coaching much more difficult than playing. So it gave me that appreciation.”