You know the story. Crime fighter by day, basketball coach by night. It’s one of those you expect Hollywood to glom onto any day.

State Trooper Elgin Physic is the crime-fighting coach in question. He took charge of a youth basketball team and took it all the way to the nationals.

How did he do it? Is there some kind of cop magic that also works with a bunch of kids on a basketball court? Is it the cool name?

We tracked down Physic and asked him.

How long have you been in police work? I have been in police work for five years now.

How tough is it to run this program and be a trooper? It is not easy due to my full case load. Due to my work schedule, I have to do a lot of juggling to make it work. Most of the time, we were practicing two times a week and playing games all weekend. There were times I would coach all day and go straight to work. I’m passionate about basketball. I think the kids in our area deserve a place where they can play at a high level in the area and compete against some of the best talent in New England.

How did you get into coaching and how did you start coaching AAU (Amateur Athletic Union)? I had gotten into coaching originally because my father was a high school and college coach for years. I started off being a player/coach when I was 19 years old. I got into coaching in Lewiston because I wanted to volunteer my time in the community. I wanted to coach high school kids so I volunteered as a coach at MBNation (Maine Basketball Nation), an Amateur Athletic Union club, summer of 2010.

When dealing with a team full of kids, does being a cop help? I think it helps tremendously because I am able to know when the right time is to talk to them or when the right time is to yell at them. On a daily basis I see how people mess up their lives. I try to teach the kids life lessons through basketball so they don’t make the mistakes that I have seen so many make.

How did the Lewiston Area Basketball Club get started? The club started at the Lewiston Recreation Department when Bob and I joined together to coach the seventh- and eighth-grade travel team. Impressed by the raw talent of our players, we began talking about putting together an AAU basketball team to continue building our boys’ skills to get them to play at even a higher level.

Although Coach Bob was unable to coach this spring, I decided he was still going to put together a team and Bob’s son, Chris, joined in to help coach.

Together Chris and I worked to find players that would work well with our system of playing. Since I previously coached for MBNation last summer, I contacted the Saco-based MBNation for help in getting this team started.

What obstacles have you faced in creating this team? Money has been a huge obstacle since some of the players are financially challenged. Some businesses have reached out in the community to us. We also have fundraised money as well. I have had to give money out of my pocket for things that have come up over the AAU season, such as AAU memberships and food for kids who have no money when we travel. At first, finding a place to practice was challenging because the ideal place wanted to charge us money to practice. Thankfully, Geiger Elementary School staff was able to donate us some gym time.

In a previous article, your team is referenced as MBNation Physic and you refer to yourself as Lewiston Area Basketball Club. How do you explain this? Pretty simple. When we are in the local area in terms of fundraising or participating in the community we refer to ourselves as Lewiston Area Basketball Club. When it comes to playing we play under the MBNation club representing them. We are known as MBNation Physic.

What can the public do to help? If people want to donate money they can. It does not have to be an enormous amount because every little bit helps. We’ll accept bottles or if businesses want to donate items so that we can raffle them, we will accept those. If businesses want to sponsor us that would be great on both sides since it would be tax deductible for them. ( The address is Lewiston Area Basketball Club, P.O. Box 967, Lewiston, ME 04243)

What’s next for your team? Right now for our team we are fundraising for our trip to the nationals and working hard to prepare for the talent we are going to see on the national scene.

What’s next for the basketball club? There is a lot of talent in our area that I want to keep fostering and give them a place if they want to go to the next level. I plan to expand and have a total of three teams next year. I have already received phone calls of people who want their children to play AAU basketball with my club next year.

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