LEWISTON – Megan Myles is trying to break herself of the habit.

As she watches the basketball game unfold, she can’t help but still view it as a player. Granted, she has done just that since she was in grade school, but the former Edward Little and University of Southern Maine standout isn’t a player any longer.

“Sometimes I get too caught up watching the game and not really focusing on certain things,” Myles said. “I’m kind of training myself into the coaching mentality instead of the player’s mentality.”

Myles is spending her first year in the coaching ranks as an assistant with the USM women’s team. Three games into the season, Myles is still adjusting.

“I’m working on it,” she said. “It’s getting a little easier, but it’s still very hard. I’m trying to see things that coach (Gary Fifield) can’t focus on. It’s hard. I get caught up in the play, and I should be watching something else.”

Myles and Fifield discussed the possibility of becoming an assistant coach last season when the Huskies lost in the NCAA Division III championship game. With a year of school left, Myles joined the coaching ranks to gain an opportunity to develop experience while staying close to the game.

“I definitely wanted to stay in it,” she said. “I love the game so much. I wish I could still be in there.”

Myles said she’d like to keep coaching in college, even after she hits the job market next year. Working with Fifield and fellow assistants Mike McDevitt, Ken Butler and Brandon Salway has given her a well-rounded introduction to coaching.

“It’s a different role being on that other side, on and off the court,” said Myles, a Miss Basketball finalist in high school. “I’m just happy to be involved. I came in with these seniors when I transferred in. I feel a very strong part of this team.”

Though she was a teammate of many of the players on the USM squad, the change in roles hasn’t been a difficult transition.

“I’m a coach now, but I think even last year all the girls respected me and respected my opinion and what I had to say,” said Myles, who went to Merrimack for a year before transferring to USM. “I still give input when it’s needed and Coach Fifield asks for my input. I think he respects my opinion.”

Myles does scouting and is the only assistant at practice regularly. She works with the perimeter players while Fifield schools the post game.

She admits there is much for her to learn, but she feels her understanding of the game and awareness as a player helps her instincts as a coach.

“It’s just reading the game and trying to see other things,” she said. “I always thought that was the strength of my game as a player – reading things and being able to change things up on the fly. I think that carries over in reading defenses.”

Her new job also provides the opportunity to be on the same team as her cousin, Kristen Arsenault. The former Mountain Valley all-star is a freshman.

“She’s just another kid when the game is going on, but it’s fun,” said Myles. “It’s good to have her around. We’ve always talked about it, about how we’d like to play together. It never worked out, but I get to work with her.”