In the middle of a basketball game this winter, Mark Simpson got a job offer of sorts.

He was officiating a junior varsity game at Mt. Abram, where the longtime varsity coach had announced he was retiring after the season.

“I’m down on the baseline and (athletic administrator) Jeff Pillsbury kind of snuck up behind me and said, ‘Hey Mark, you know I have an opening for next year.'” Simpson said. “He was just joking, and he didn’t know I already had my eye on it.”

Both Simpson and Pillsbury got their wish. Simpson will return to coaching girls’ basketball, taking over the Roadrunners’ program. He still has some paperwork to fill out to make it official, but Simpson is excited about the opportunity, despite the challenge of replacing the popular Doug Lisherness.

“I’m a little skeptical about replacing a living legend,” said Simpson, of Lisherness,who was a standout player at Mt. Abram and coached for more than 30 years. “Up there as a player and as a coach, Doug is it. But with seven or eight seniors graduating, it will be a fresh start. I think it will be good for both me and for the girls.”

Simpson most recently coached at Livermore Falls for two seasons, including one with a 15-3 record and trip to the Western C final in the last year of the program. The Andies lost to Hall-Dale that year and merged with Jay the following year as Spruce Mountain. He went 30-10 overall with two playoff appearances.

Simpson then became a basketball official, and did that for two years, but decided that really wasn’t for him.

“I didn’t really like it,” he said. “It kept me connected to the game, but the whole time I was doing it, I was coaching in my head. I want to teach the game. I can’t do that, blow the whistle and tell the kids what they’re doing wrong. I need to be out there and teaching them the game.”

His experience as an official has given him a new perspective as he returns to coaching. As a coach, he always knew the time and score. As an official, those details weren’t as important. He was focused on each play and each call as the game evolved.

“I’ll be a different coach as far as approaching officials,” Simpson said. “I did learn a lot about that aspect of the game.”

Simpson is also excited about returning to the Mountain Valley Conference.  He first coached at Livermore Falls from 1988 to 1991. The Andies went 45-17 and made the playoffs each year. He coached the Mt. Blue girls for three seasons, from 1994 to 1996. The Cougars went 22-32 .

“The biggest reason that this interested me was because I’m familiar with the MVC and all the coaches,” Simpson said. “Mt. Abram has a good tradition of producing good basketball players.”

After reaching the Western C quarterfinals last year, the Roadrunners will graduate much of that team. Being hired now allows Simpson to get to work on setting up a summer program. He’s also hoping to have a camp for younger kids in an effort to build for the future.

“We’ll be very young,” he said. “I don’t have real high expectations, but I will teach them the game of defense. That’s what we’ll try to hang our hats on — play real good, hard-nosed, man-to-man halfcourt defense. On the offensive end, we’ll try to control the ball and limit the other team’s chances. I’m looking at it realistically. We’re going to struggle, but we’ll try to make it fun and we’ll see how it goes.”

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