High school basketball practices have begun, but a familiar face will be missing this year.

Former John Bapst High School coach and athletic director Bob Cimbollek, known for his patient shuffle offense, retired in August and is now enjoying the fruits of retirement.

Cimbollek’s career covered 40 years and, in addition to John Bapst, he also had stints at Bangor High School, Orono and Fort Fairfield. He has been a physical education teacher as well as being a coach and athletic director.

He has also been a basketball referee and he will continue in that role at the middle school and men’s league levels.

“I’m not interested in doing high school games because I don’t want to travel,” said the 63-year-old Cimbollek.

Cimbollek compiled a 446-161 record in his 29 seasons of coaching- he took 10 years off from coaching when his son, Robby, was playing sports- and has five state championships and six Eastern Maine titles to his credit.

He said he won’t miss the games, but he will miss the practices.

“I’ll miss the teaching. I’ve always enjoyed that part of it. But the game has changed so much. I don’t enjoy it now. It has gotten too rough. I’ve always considered it a finesse game. That’s the way I’ve taught the game to my players, but they have been at a disadvantage because of the way the game is called [by the referees] now,” said Cimbollek.

He has found a new level of relaxation that has enhanced his life these days.

“I used to keep a note pad next to my bed so when I would remember something I had to do, I’d wake up and jot it down,” said Cimbollek. “It’s nice to be able to sleep in.”

But Cimbollek is still busy.

He works out four hours a day and that includes such activies as walking, biking, playing basketball at the Bangor YMCA and lifting weights. Cross country skiing and snowshoeing will be added to the equation this winter.

He also expects to officiate 10-12 basketball games a week for middle school assigner Smoky Lawrence as well as the Brewer and Old Town men’s leagues.

He will also be doing color commentary for WABI-TV plus radio coverage of the Eastern Maine and State high school tournament games in February and March.

Cimbollek, who has authored a pair of basketball books, expects to resurrect his shooting camps next summer. He hasn’t run them in more than 10 years because he used to coach the John Bapst team during summer basketball league play.

He says he now recognizes how demanding his schedule was as a coach and an athletic director.

“I’d work 35-40 hours a week as an athletic director and 35-40 hours as a basketball coach and I was under constant pressure and stress with both,” said Cimbollek.

“I wish I had retired sooner,” he quipped.

So is the book closed on Cimbollek’s coaching career?

Not necessarily.

“We’ll see how I feel a year or two from now,” said Cimbollek who expressed interest in assisting for a college program.

Bruins’ future is cloudy

Nobody in the NHL has undergone the facelift that the Boston Bruins have over the last month of the season.

They fired Pat Burns and replaced him with Mike Keenan. They traded hold-out Anson Carter and draft picks for former Boston College star and consummate power forward Bill Guerin and obtained veteran checker Dixon Ward along with left wing Andrei Nazarov and defenseman Patrick Traverse.

Former University of Maine All-American defenseman Bob Beers, the color analyst for Bruins games on WEEI, said the jury is still out on the changes.

“It may help today, tomorrow and the next day,” said Beers. “But then what? I question whether they can they sign Guerin to a long-term deal [after this season since his contract expires].”

He thinks Guerin, a native of Wilbraham, Mass., can continue to be a productive scorer even with the pressure of playing in his home state.

“He’s the type of guy who can handle it,” said Beers. “He just turned 30. Hopefully, his better years are in front of him and he hasn’t hit a plateau.”

He feels the forwards are “adequate but not elite.

“I love [Jason] Allison, I really like [Joe] Thornton, and I like Guerin,” said Beers who thinks the book is out on the rest of the forwards.

But Beers said the Bruins are in desperate need of a top-notch defensemen.

“What they have here now hasn’t done the job yet,” said Beers who added that the players will also have to adjust to Keenan.

“Any player can adjust to different systems but they’ll have to adjust to his coaching style and his personality,” said Beers.

College hockey is improving

The caliber of play in college hockey is improving steadily, according to long-time Boston Bruins scout and NHL Hall-of-Famer Jean Ratelle.

“More kids want to go to school and play their hockey there,” said Ratelle. “Getting an education is so important.”

In addition to the educational advantage college players have over Major Junior players, he also said the fact college players receive much more practice time to develop their skills is a distinct advantage.

“It’s hard in Juniors because they play so many games,” said Ratelle.

He said the parity in college hockey is another plus in the development of players.

“There aren’t any easy games in college hockey,” said Ratelle. “So if you don’t work hard, you’re going to get beat.”