Ron Cote first picked up a whistle back in 1973 at Old Town High School as a junior varsity basketball coach. He has had to set it down a couple times over the years, but he could never keep himself away from the court for very long.

Cote made his mark in his hometown as the coach of the Biddeford boys basketball team for 16 years. Followed by a 7-year run as the University of New England men’s basketball coach and then a 6-year stretch as the Biddeford High girls hoops coach.

A cancer diagnosis would force him to step away from the BHS girls job in 2010, but he would battle his way back to the bench just two years later as the head girls coach at Scarborough. He would be forced to step away after a successful season with the Red Storm because of more health problems.

While his days as a head coach are over, the Biddeford native has spent the last few years helping other head coaches in the state as an assistant — and he is loving every minute of it.

He is currently an assistant coach for the Old Orchard Beach girls basketball team under head coach Dean Plante. I was able to speak with Cote following a Lady Gulls victory on Thursday night.

Here is the complete interview:

PM: Take me through your coaching career…

RC: Back in 1973, I was a senior at (UMaine) and I did my student teaching at Old Town High School and got started there as a (junior varsity) basketball coach and head baseball coach. I stayed at Old Town, got the teaching job the next year, stayed there and coached football, basketball, baseball and then the next year I got my first head coaching job in basketball at Brewer High School and I stayed there for two years. Then I came to my hometown and worked in Biddeford as an assistant football coach and head (boys) basketball coach for 16 years.

(Cote was the Biddeford boys coach from 1976 to 1991)

I went to UNE as the men’s basketball coach for seven years and then I got involved with the girls basketball team at Biddeford and coached them for six years. That’s when I got cancer at the end of that, I think it was 2010 … I took a year off, and then I came back, and at that point I just wanted to be an assistant and help people out, so I went to Cheverus for a year — and then the Scarborough girls basketball job opened and somebody called me so I took that. We were 16-4 that year, but then I got sick and I gave it up. I vowed after that that I would only help people, so that’s what I’ve been doing.

PM: What made you decide to join the OOB girls program?

RC: Well, three years ago I was at OOB with the boys in John Regan’s last year, I helped out here but then John got done and I went to Waynflete. The Waynflete coach was my assistant at Scarborough, so he called me and I helped him with the girls for the last two years … I got involved helping with my grandkids, who are at three different schools, and with my wife and I was getting tired of the drive to Portland. Dean saw that I was available and asked me to be an assistant — it was closer to my house, I still live in Biddeford, and so here I am.

PM: What makes you keep coming back to coaching?

RC: Every time I step into a gym, I get excited about doing it … even at my age I get excited, I’m happy to be here and I’m happy to help kids develop their basketball skills.

PM: What’s it been like this year with a new group of girls who might not know your coaching history?

RC: Every time you start somewhere it’s like you almost have to prove yourself and earn their respect. I thought the girls here were extremely nice to me, they welcomed me into their basketball family. Dean has been excellent with me, he’s allowed me to do some coaching on the floor and it’s at the point with the girls that I think I’ve earned their respect. It’s been a good situation.

PM: What do you see in this OOB team?

RC: I think right now, we’re 8-2 I believe, and I think in our class we’re going to do well. I always want to see us improve. As a head coach (one thing) I always wanted from my teams — from the beginning of the year to the end of the year — is keep improving, keep improving. With this team, I think we’ve got a lot of things that are new for them, and I think they’ve done well with it and they’re improving all the time with their execution.

PM: Take me back to the 1990-91 season when you led the Biddeford boys to the state finals…

RC: It was the first time in the history of the school that we went to the state championship. We were (the) No. 7 (seed) going into the tournament … we beat Bonny Eagle at home (in a prelim), we went to the Civic Center and we beat the No. 2 team Deering, No. 3 Portland and the No. 4 team in the Western Maine final, Lewiston. We got to the championship game in Bangor and we played Old Town. They were (6-foot-6), 6-6, 6-7 and our biggest kid was 6-3. With 34 seconds left we were on the line, we missed two foul shots to tie it and we lost by five.

PM: What was that run like? What was the support like from Biddeford?

RC: It was one of the best things that has happened in my basketball coaching career. The whole town of Biddeford was in Bangor. When we came out I can remember telling the kids on the bench, I said, “I want you to look across,” and it was a sea of black and orange, and I said “you’re never going to forget this.” It was so loud in that place — and I’m pretty loud as a coach on the sideline — it was so loud that the kids couldn’t hear me on the floor. It was just a great, great atmosphere.

PM: When you see Justin Tardif and the Biddeford boys basketball team having success after some rough years, what’s it feel like as a former coach and lifelong resident of Biddeford?

RC: I’m really happy to see them succeed. Justin withstood the storm, so to speak, of those three tough years, and that’s not easy for any coach. The one thing about Justin is he works hard. He cares about his kids. He works hard as a coach, he makes his kids work hard and it’s great to see him get some results and some wins there.

PM: How many years do you have left?

RC: I don’t know … it’s a good question. This is my 42nd year being involved and I’m just talking basketball. Football I was involved for 25 years, you know I was with (Mike) Landry in all those Gold Ball years as the offensive coordinator, and then baseball we won the championship in 1984, the first time in school history, and I was the head coach. I did that for 13 years, so I don’t know how much longer.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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