Special to the Pioneer Times
Three new, but familiar, faces will be sitting on the sideline in the upcoming basketball season. The Hodgdon boys’ and girls’ teams, along with the Katahdin boys’, all have new coaches this year.
Tyler Putnam returns to Hodgdon to take the reigns of the boys’ team. Putnam has no history of coaching high school basketball, but hopes to draw from his years as a player to make up for his lack of experience.
“I’ve been around the game all my life,” explained Putnam. “I’m going to take the knowledge I’ve gotten from all levels to teach these guys.”
He is looking to build his team with a solid base, emphasizing fundamentals and basics and breaking it down one quarter at a time with his young team. Putnam has also been opening the gym nearly every day of the week for his players, allowing them a chance to work on their game.
Along with Putnam, Hodgdon native Olin Quint joins the sidelines at the Hodgdon High gymnasium. Quint is taking over the coaching job for the Hodgdon varsity girls. After coaching for the JV girls for many years he decided to step up and take over the varsity team when the job became open.
Just down the road from Hodgdon, another school has a new varsity basketball coach. Shawn Craig, former Katahdin basketball player, is the new head coach for the Katahdin boys’ team. Craig, who went to three straight state championships as a player, is hoping to, like Putnam, use his history as a player to make up for his lack of coaching experience.
“The kids are always asking about yesteryear,” Craig said. “They seem inspired by the stories.”
Although he has no experience as a varsity coach, he coached the same group of young men when they were in junior high. Craig believes team chemistry will help his young team get to the tournament in Bangor and make a statement for the years to come.
