Narraguagus of Harrington earning a spot in the Eastern Maine Class C quarterfinals was as exciting for then assistant coach Chris Burke as it was for the Knights.

Burke, a 1988 Narraguagus graduate and small forward for Knights teams of the mid-1980s, never got to play at the Bangor Auditorium.

“Calais was too good,” he said with a laugh. “We never got that far.”

Burke is hoping to take another trip to the tournament soon, this time as the team’s head coach.

Burke was hired last month to replace John DeRaps after coaching two years with DeRaps.

“I’ve thought about [coaching varsity],” Burke said. “He and I worked really well together. I always thought, if he ever got done I would step up and apply for it.”

That’s what Burke did, after two seasons with the junior varsity and several years of coaching at the junior high and youth levels.

Burke, a Quahog fisherman who lives in Addison, has a flexible enough schedule for practices and games as well as summer league games at UMaine-Machias.

“A lot of times I’ve called it quits [for the day] because I enjoy coaching so much,” he said. “The crew doesn’t mind too much.”

Things are going well for the Knights this summer, Burke said, with four starters returning from a team that suffered a 33-32 heartbreaking quarterfinal game. Dexter’s Mallory Ames hit a buzzer-beating basket with less than a second left for a 33-32 win.

Still, it was good experience for the group, which next winter will include 5-foot-4 senior guard Kim Greene, 5-foot-10 senior guard Courtney Foss, 6-2 sophomore center Andrea Perry and 5-10 junior center Amanda Ostberg.

“When we got there last year, we walked into the hallway and everybody was peeking through the windows, watching the games. The girls hadn’t been there before. I think that will drive them to get there again.”

Next year’s group will also include Burke’s daughters, 5-6 defensive-minded junior forward Kristen Burke, and incoming freshman Brittany Burke.

DeRaps resigned this spring because of the driving distance (110 miles one way) from his home in Lincoln to Harrington. The Knights showed improvement in each of his three seasons and were 12-8 in 2006-07.

Ryan gets national honor

John Ryan, who serves as an athletic trainer in the Bangor School Department, has racked up some impressive awards lately.

One of those awards earned him a trip to Anaheim, Calif.

Bangor resident Ryan will receive the National Athletic Trainers Association Service Award at the NATA’s convention in California June 26-30.

The service award recognizes trainers with at least 15 years as a certified NATA member who have made contributions to the athletic training profession and the association.

The NATA award comes months after Ryan was named the winner of the Micro-Bio Medics Award, which is given by the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association. Ryan received that award, which recognizes athletic trainers at the secondary or prep school level, at a convention in January.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.