Traip Academy is looking for a new boys’ basketball coach.
Jeremy Paul, who coached the Rangers for the last 15 years, resigned after taking on a job as recreation director for Kittery. He starts June 25 and said he simply couldn’t make a full commitment to both his job and coaching.
“Down the road, maybe,” he said, “but the commitment to my full-time job comes first right now.”
Paul, 44, who had been the assistant recreation director since 2004, joined the Traip basketball program in 1997 as the freshman coach, holding that position for four years. Then he joined the varsity as an assistant for two years before taking over as head coach.
The Rangers went 10-10 last year, losing in the Class C South quarterfinals to top-ranked Hall-Dale, 68-58. Traip had several strong seasons under Paul, but that’s not what he’ll remember of his time with the Rangers.
“I think we just had a lot of great kids,” he said. “We had a close-knit, family-type feeling and that’s what I will miss. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, we had some really competitive teams. We were close.
“Overall I had a lot of good memories of good people and good kids who came through the program.”
Athletic Director Mike Roberge said he hopes to have a candidate in place before the end of the school year. The position was posted last week.
Roberge was actually the varsity boys’ coach at Traip when Paul was hired as the freshman coach.
“We had a long-standing relationship,” said Roberge. “We wish Jeremy all the best. He’s done a lot of good things for the school and the community. We’re going to do the best we can to move the program forward.”
ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Maine Ultimate high school spring league will hold its boys’ and girls’ tournaments Saturday at the New Gloucester Fairgrounds.
Ultimate is a fast-paced seven-on-seven team sport played with a flying disc (Frisbee), with teams trying to pass the disc to teammates to advance down the 70-by-40 yard field and into the 20-yard deep end zone. Ultimate has become a popular club sport in southern Maine since it started as an eight-team league in 2009. This year over 700 athletes representing approximately 50 teams participated, with an A and B division for boys, a girls’ division and a mixed division.
On Saturday, eight boys’ teams and seven girls’ teams will compete for the state title, rain or shine. Quarterfinal games begin at 10 a.m. The championships are scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.
The Cape Elizabeth boys and the girls from Forest City (a combination of Portland and Deering students) are the top seeds. The defending champion Falmouth boys and Cape Elizabeth girls both enter this spring’s tournament as third seeds.
The mixed division tournament will be held June 2, also at the New Gloucester Fairgrounds. Falmouth won the 2017 mixed tournament. A separate “unofficial,” boys’ B division tournament will be held Saturday at the Wainwright Recreation Complex in South Portland.
Ultimate is not sanctioned by the Maine Principals’ Association. All players and at least one coach must be members of USA Ultimate. The league charges a $125 fee per team for tournament participation.
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