New basketball coaches named at CAHS
MARS HILL, Maine — Central Aroostook High School will have two new varsity basketball coaches roaming the sidelines this winter.
Jason Woodworth takes over the boys’ job after Tim Brewer resigned following 15 years at the post, while Cody Tompkins is the new girls’ coach, replacing Joe Levesque, who had held the position the last two seasons.
Ryan Guerrette, the school’s athletic director, said both Woodworth and Tompkins were solid candidates and come in with strong credentials.
Woodworth was hired during the May 20 school board meeting. He had been the junior varsity coach and Brewer’s assistant varsity coach the past four years.
“Jason had done a very good job as a coach and the hiring committee believed his familiarity with the program and the students made him a very strong candidate,” Guerrette said. “He has a great knowledge of the game and should have a seamless transition into varsity.”
Woodworth, 28, played point guard for Brewer all four years of high school, graduating in 2005. He was an integral part of the first of Brewer’s four state championship teams and is thankful for the many years he spent under Brewer as both a player and a coach.
“I could probably coach 100 years and not accomplish what he has, so no doubt I have big shoes and expectations to fill,” Woodworth said. “As far as X’s and O’s, he’s as good as it gets. He knows what it takes to get all the way to the top.”
Woodworth said he applied for the head coaching position for two major reasons — his love for the CAHS athletic program and the challenge of getting the team back to “being a threat in Class D.”
“It’s going to take a lot of work, but we have the ability to make some noise and this coming year and going forward could be very bright for CAHS,” Woodworth added.
He is married, has four children and works at McCain Foods.
Cody Tompkins was selected as the Panther girls’ coach on June 10, 2015.
“Cody is a true student of the game,” Guerrette said. “His organizational skills and passion for the sport and the countless hours he puts in scouting, watching video and talking to fellow coaches to gather information will help his teams succeed.”
The 21-year-old Tompkins played sports at Easton High School and is currently attending the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He coached girls’ varsity basketball at Hodgdon during the 2013-14 season and at Ashland in 2014-15.
Last year, he also coached varsity boys’ soccer and junior high softball at CAHS.
“Having already coached in the system and Mars Hill being minutes away from where I live played a huge part in my decision to apply,” Tompkins said. “My last two varsity basketball coaching positions have helped me grow as a coach and this group of girls at Central Aroostook is talented, so I hope I can be an asset to the team and the community.”
The girls’ job became open following a recent decision by the SAD 42 school board to adopt a policy to not allow an individual to coach more than one sport in the same gender. Levesque is already the girls’ varsity soccer coach at CAHS.
Guerrette said this has been the basis for much discussion by the school board for many years and the board decided to take action this spring.
“There isn’t much down time between varsity sports seasons and it allows the student-athletes and the coaches to get a break from each other,” Guerrette said. “It is hard for a coach to run a successful summer program for two different sports at the same time as one sport will always suffer, so in the end the school board and administration felt it was best to put this policy in place.”
