SCARBOROUGH — Tom Maines brought his unique style of coaching to the Scarborough High girls’ basketball program when he was hired last year.
His up-tempo offense and pressure defense turned losses of the previous year into wins.
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The Red Storm will have to find another leader for their program as Maines submitted his resignation Monday.
Maines said it was a difficult decision, but something he and his wife, Rita, had been discussing. His wife was his assistant coach last season.
“It’s sad leaving,” said Maines.
“Hopefully, I left the program in better shape,” he said.
The Red Storm finished 19-2. They lost in the Western Maine Class A final to eventual state champion McAuley High of Portland. Both of Scarborough’s losses were to McAuley.
With four starters back from last season, the Red Storm are expected to be strong again. But so is McAuley.
Maines, 65, cited two specific reasons for stepping down.
One, the travel was becoming a little too much. He and his wife live in Brunswick.
The other was his frustration with the public vs. private school issue.
“Public high schools have to work like the dickens to have a good team,” said Maines.
“There should be two basketball tournaments — one for public schools and one for private schools. The Maine Principals’ Association says it wants a level playing field, but it’s certainly not the case.”
Maines’ resignation came as a surprise.
“Shock is more like it,” said Don Briggs, president of the Scarborough basketball boosters.
“It came out of the blue. I talked to Tommy a week ago and he gave no indication.”
Briggs’ daughter, Ashley, started at guard as a freshman last season.
“The players were excited for a second season with Coach Maines,” said Don Briggs.
“He was hired right before last season. When we found out he was going to be the coach, we were all pretty fired up. Coach Maines had to learn everyone’s name. The team was looking for a full season under him.”
Last season was Maines’ first as a girls’ head coach.
He spent 28 years coaching boys’ basketball in the state, most nobably at Morse High of Bath where he won three straight Class A state titles in the late 1980s.
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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