When three senior members of the Bangor High School girls basketball team decided during the summer to spruce up their warmup uniforms for the winter season, they turned to Andy Nickerson.

Nickerson owns Wight’s Sporting Goods in Bangor and handles uniform orders for schools all over the state.

Nickerson also happens to be the head coach of Bangor’s rival across the Penobscot River at Brewer High. But that didn’t stop either party from coming up with one of the most original warm-up jackets in the state.

Bangor point guard Ilyse Angst said she and fellow seniors Kelsey Curtis and Serena Dubois approached Rams coach Tom Tennett about new warm-ups. They all liked the warm-up jackets used by one of the college teams in North Carolina, which feature a zipper and a hood.

The Bangor High group took their idea to Nickerson. He had trouble finding what the Rams wanted.

What they came up with was a white jacket with a zipper, sleeves that hit just above the wrist, a hood, and a red Bangor Rams logo.

“It was pretty cool to see it come out kind of nice,” Angst said. “Everyone comments on them. I think that’s what we like about it. It’s different. And it’s fun.”

Nickerson said Bangor has been the only school that approached him about customizing their warm-ups.

“We’re all trying to find something a little different to help our kids feel good about themselves and feel a little unique,” Nickerson said. “And they look great.”

It didn’t bother the Brewer coach that the Bangor kids came to him. At Wight’s he deals with Bangor High all the time, and he’s got an even stronger connection to Tennett.

Not only do the two coaches know each other because Nickerson supplies Bangor with uniforms, but Nickerson, a former standout Brewer High athlete, played junior varsity basketball for Tennett.

“We have a very good relationship and in my first year of coaching he’s done nothing but help me week in and week out with questions and thoughts,” Nickerson said. “So I think the world of him, as much as I would have liked to have beaten him. But that’s the way it goes. Hopefully in my tenure we’ll get a few wins against them.”