She wasn’t looking for a coaching job. She didn’t even need a coaching job.

But when Kat McKay learned about the varsity softball coach opening at Poland Regional High School, it was too intriguing an opportunity.

It led to a change in coaches at both Poland and St.Dom’s. McKay was hired to guide the Knights while Mike Murphy has taken over the varsity job for the Saints.

“Honestly, I wasn’t looking for a new position,” said McKay. “I was happy at St. Dom’s. I loved the kids and love the staff. The school’s always been close to my heart obviously because I went there.

“But when I was doing basketball at Poland, I heard the position had opened over there, I talked to my husband about it. Poland is closer. Financially, Poland pays a little more, and I felt like this was an opportunity to build a program over there. So I put my name in the hat not knowing how many applicants there would be or who would apply for it.”

Much to her surprise, Poland called her and offered her the job. She talked it over with her former players and fellow coaches and decided it was the right move for her.

The once-consistent Poland program has had a regular turnover in coaches in recent years. So McKay sees the opportunity to bring some consistency to the program and likes the challenge of trying to build something sustainable.

“I’m hoping I can be that, seeing how I grew up in the Mechanic Falls and Poland community,” said McKay, who was a standout catcher who was named Miss Maine Softball while playing at St. Dom’s. “I live in Mechanic Falls, and I’m really looking forward to going back to Poland. I’m really hoping to make a name for the girls there in the Western Maine Conference.”

McKay was an assistant with the Poland basketball program during a season in which the Knights posted the most wins ever and reached the Western B preliminaries. She’s heard from people in the community about what to expect from the Knights softball players this season. Though she’s still unfamiliar with the squad, she’s liked what she’s heard.

“I don’t know too much about the team going into it, other than what I’ve been told about it generally” said McKay, who hopes to start the sign-up sheets this week. “They told me I have excellent pitching coming in with two or three freshmen pitchers that have potential to do great things. Things like that definitely get me excited.”

When McKay announced to her former players that she was leaving St. Dom’s to coach at Poland, her Saints didn’t have to wait long for a replacement. They were told Murphy was stepping into the varsity job at the same meeting with the players.

“When Kat called and told me that she was going to take the Poland job, she called (athletic director) Lee Hixon as well,” said Murphy. “I called Lee and pretty much offered my services, if Kat was leaving, to fill that void.”

Murphy had been an assistant to McKay for four seasons. He was also a JV and varsity assistant for Paul Rheaume with the St. Dom’s basketball team. He had also coached the softball and basketball programs at St. Augustine in Augusta.

“I’ve been there with her the last four years,” said Murphy. “We knew this was probably best for the kids and would minimize any transition. Obviously, Kat was a great coach and role model. We’re all going to miss her tremendously, but we thought this would be the best thing and would make it a smooth transition.”

The Saints finished seventh overall last year and lost to Georges Valley in the Western C quarterfinals. The Saints graduated four starters — two pitchers and two outfielders.

“We’ve got the rest of the infield coming back and four seniors this year from last year’s team,” said Murphy. “We’ve got a really strong hitting team and a really strong fielding team. We’re going to be filling some positions in the outfield and we’re going to be working hard to be sure we have a pitcher that can step up.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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