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When it became apparent to Greg Hirsch that his playing days were over at the University of Maine, he found himself with plenty of spare time during the winter of 1995-96.
No more facing hundreds of shots in practice and tending the gate during games as the back-up or third-string goalie.
“Blair Allison and Blair Marsh were coming back so it was time to move on,” reasoned Hirsch. “But I wanted to keep busy in the winter so I looked into being a high school assistant coach.”
He was going to help out at Bangor High but applied for an assistant’s job at Orono.
He wound up with the head coaching job at Orono.
Now in the middle of his seventh season at Orono, the 29-year-old Hirsch has compiled a 104-37 record entering a Wednesday night game against Stearns of Millinocket and had led his Riots to 36 consecutive regular season wins.
The Riots had won 91 of their last 101 games under Hirsch entering Wednesday’s game.
“He is, by far, the best coach I’ve ever played for,” said Orono senior left winger Will Toner. “He has a great attitude and I don’t know anyone who knows the game better than he does.”
Senior defenseman Paul Panburn said Hirsch “really inspires us. He knows what to say at the right time. And he knows all aspects of the game.”
Hirsch said the two greatest influences on his coaching style have been the late Shawn Walsh, his coach at Maine, and Jack Fletcher, who coached Hirsch at Chelmsford (Mass.) High School.
“Shawn always left his door open to me. He helped me out a lot in situational things, especially how to handle off-ice things. And I used a lot of the practice drills I had at Maine. The practices were so high-tempo,” said Hirsch. “From sitting on the bench at Maine, I also got to see the psychological aspects of the game and how Shawn handled them.
“I also took a lot from Jack Fletcher. He has been a real positive influence in my life,” said Hirsch.
The common denominator between Walsh and Fletcher was a “defense first” philosophy.
“All of my coaches were defense-oriented. Being a goalie, I know the importance of defensive zone coverage. Everyone is accountable for defensive zone coverage,” said Hirsch. “I do give them a lot of freedom to be creative in the offensive zone.”
Hirsch also acknowledges that he “tries to be as positive as I can.
“The kids only have four years of high school so they deserve the best out of their coaches,” explained Hirsch.
“Greg’s a great coach,” said John Bapst coach Doug Damon. “He’s a person who puts a lot into it and he has elevated the level of high school hockey in Eastern Maine. His kids pass, skate, go to the net and do the things you want your kids to do.”
Hirsch had an outstanding corps of freshmen his first year and they provided him with an Eastern Maine Class B championship four years later.
He has learned the virtue of adaptability because he has guided this year’s team to a 12-0 record with just seven forwards and four defensemen to go with the three goalies.
Despite having two swift-skating, high-powered lines, he will occasionally utilize the passive neutral zone trap to help his players conserve energy.
Hirsch, married to the former Kristen Cerbone and the father of Alexa, who will be 3 in April, said coaching is a passion for him.
“I love coaching. My year revolves around the hockey season. I couldn’t live without it. It gets obsessive at times,” said Hirsch who would like to eventually try his hand in the college ranks.
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