One of Eastern Maine’s winningest boys basketball coaches won’t be back on the sidelines next winter.

Bill McAvoy, who amassed more than 300 victories during 13 seasons at Central Aroostook of Mars Hill and for the last 15 years at Katahdin of Stacyville, recently told school officials he wouldn’t return to coach the Cougars during the 2007-08 season.

“I decided during last season that I was going to get done,” said McAvoy. “I thought about it some more after the season and decided now was the right time.”

McAvoy said he had grown frustrated in recent years with the lack of continuity between the high school and junior high basketball programs at Katahdin, his alma mater.

“I just don’t think you can run a successful program without that relationship,” McAvoy said. “I tried to get it headed back toward the way I thought it should be, but that didn’t happen and so we parted company on good terms.”

McAvoy played on an undefeated Class S state championship team under coach Ron Marks at Sherman High School in 1967, the last year before that school was part of a consolidation that formed Katahdin High School. McAvoy then played under Marks on the first Katahdin team, helping the Cougars to an undefeated regular-season finish.

He went on to study and continue his basketball career at Unity College before returning to northern Maine to begin teaching and coaching at Central Aroostook in Mars Hill.

McAvoy served as a junior varsity coach under Frank Keenan at CAHS for three years, then took over the head coaching duties in 1978. He coached the Panthers for 13 seasons, then returned to his alma mater in 1993.

Katahdin finished 9-9 last season, then went on the road to defeat Van Buren in an Eastern Maine Class D prelim before falling to eventual state champion Deer Isle-Stonington in the quarterfinals.

“I’ll miss the type of kids I’ve been involved with over the years,” McAvoy said. “When the kids come back home from college and stop by to say hello, you realize that maybe you’ve done something as a coach to make a difference. I’ve really enjoyed my relationships with the kids.”

McAvoy, who also said he’ll miss the relationships he’s developed in the coaching community during 28 years as a varsity basketball coach, hasn’t ruled out a return to the sidelines in the future after taking this year off.