Rick Sinclair, who has guided the Mattanawcook Academy boys basketball team to the upper echelon of Eastern Maine Class B during his five years as the Lynx’s head coach, won’t return to the sidelines next winter.

Sinclair, who will remain as the school’s athletic administrator, told his team of his coaching decision during its annual breakup banquet earlier this week.

“There’s no controversy, no issues,” he said. “I just have other priorities that I choose to take care of.”

Sinclair compiled an impressive 67-33 record with the Lynx, with his teams winning at least 12 regular-season games each of the last four years.

His first two years at MA were spent in Eastern Maine Class C before the Lynx were reclassified to Eastern B in 2005-06.

Sinclair initially stepped down as head coach after the 2006 season for family reasons but returned to the Lynx the next winter after a suitable replacement could not be found.

He went on to guide the Lynx to a 17-5 record in 2007, including a one-point loss to Camden Hills of Rockport in the 2007 Eastern Maine final. MA finished 16-5 this season, advancing to the regional semifinals before being ousted by eventual state champion Maranacook of Readfield.

“The hardest part of this,” said Sinclair, “is thinking about the seniors next year and the adjustment they’ll have to make. It shouldn’t be that way, but that’s the way it is no matter when you do this.”

Before coaching at Mattanawcook, Sinclair spent the 2000 and 2001 seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Hermon High School, where he guided the Hawks to a 29-15 record. Hermon won its first Eastern Maine Class B boys basketball championship in 2000, then returned to the regional final in 2001 before Sinclair left to become an assistant coach at Husson College in Bangor.

Sinclair, who earned Bangor Daily News All-Maine third-team recognition as a senior center at Hermon in 1992, went on to become an NAIA honorable mention All-American as a senior at Husson. He helped that program earn two NAIA national tournament berths, and he scored 1,146 career points before graduating in 1996.

Sinclair has an overall varsity coaching record of 96-48, including 12-6 in postseason play.

“I want to coach again and I hope to coach again,” he said. “There will be another time for that, because I still love basketball, but right now is not the time.”

Great Harbor Shootout set

A record 67 basketball teams will converge on Mount Desert Island this weekend for the 16th annual Great Harbor House Shootout.

Competition is scheduled boys and girls high school and junior high school divisions, with round robin play beginning Friday and leading to championship games on Sunday afternoon.

Games will be played at five locations: Mount Desert Island High School, the Mount Desert Island YMCA, Mount Desert Elementary School, Pemetic Elementary School in Southwest Harbor and Trenton Elementary School.

The tournament, which features teams from throughout northern, eastern and central Maine, often is seen as a harbinger of the next season, given that this year’s seniors do not play in the tournament.

“It’s kind of a buffer between regular-season basketball and AAU and summer basketball,” said Scott Phelps of the Southwest Harbor-based Harbor House.

Wrestling teams honored

Several area high school wrestling teams were honored recently with sportsmanship awards from the Maine Principals’ Association.

Among the teams recognized was the first-year varsity program at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford. Coached by Tom Cyr, the Pirates were honored in Eastern Maine Class C.

Other Eastern Maine recipients were Nokomis of Newport in Class A and Caribou in Class B.

Western Maine sportsmanship award winners were Marshwood of Eliot in Class A, Fryeburg Academy in Class B and Madison in Class C.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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