Saying “the timing is right,” John Regan is stepping down as the Old Orchard Beach High boys’ basketball coach after 21 seasons.
Regan, 59, whose tenure was longer than any other Old Orchard basketball coach, compiled a 214-176 record. He led the Seagulls to the Class C state title in 1988 and the Western Maine final in 2013.
“I’m going to miss it,” Regan said Thursday. “I have a very good team coming back so that makes it tougher. We started five underclassmen this season.”
The Seagulls finished with a 12-8 record in 2014-15. They beat Monmouth Academy in a preliminary-round playoff game before losing to Dirigo in the Western Class C quarterfinals.
“I’m going to miss the relationships I’ve had with the players,” Regan said. “I’m going to miss the games and the practices preparing for the games. I’ve always enjoyed game days.”
Regan also is retiring at the end of this school year as a physical education teacher at Loranger Middle School in the town where he has spent his entire 35-year teaching career. He said he will remain as the school’s golf coach.
“John means everything to this community,” said Athletic Director Jack Trull. “He’s taken this program to another level and is going to be hard to replace. He’s been a stalwart of this program, both at the varsity level and the lower levels. He’s going to be missed.”
Regan said the state championship in 1988 was a coaching highlight. The team went 21-0 with a starting five of Francois Bouchard, Robbie Hebert, Curt Chretien, Dean Plante and Bruce Vallee. Bouchard went on to star at the University of Maine. Plante is now the school’s head coach in football and girls’ basketball. Chretien was an assistant coach for Regan.
Regan was the school’s coach during two stints. He stepped away from coaching for almost a decade to spend more time with his young family before returning for the 1999-2000 season.
“The timing was right the first time I stepped down,” said Regan. “My family was young and my wife was working full-time. I needed to be at home with the kids.
“The timing is right now, too.”
Regan is a graduate of Old Orchard Beach High and the University of Southern Maine.
“I grew up in Old Orchard Beach and went through the school system. I’ve always considered it an honor to be able to teach and coach in the district I was brought up in,” he said. “In high school I was coached by John McSweeney and John Ladakakos. They were both good people and role models. They set the tone for a lot of my coaching.”
Trull said applications for the position close Friday.
“We certainly want someone in place by June. My goal is to have it filled by late May,” Trull said.
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