CARIBOU, Maine — The long-time and very successful Caribou varsity girls and boys tennis coach is one of three inductees from the northern region heading into the Maine Sports Hall of Legends.
John Habeeb played four years of tennis at Caribou High School, graduating in 1982, before moving on to the University of Southern Maine and playing for the Huskies. He continued to play competitively after college and won several singles, doubles and mixed doubles tournaments around the state.
In addition to coaching the school’s high school teams since the late 1980s, Habeeb served as the tennis director for the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department for 35 years and his team captured the Aroostook County championship every year.
“John has touched the lives of thousands of youngsters from Caribou and the surrounding towns, teaching them the lifetime sport of tennis,” said Bob White, who resides in Caribou. “His summer program has been so popular that within the first hour of registration, there was a long wait list.
“He was a true role model and professional to the players and his staff,” White added.
Gary Marquis, superintendent of the recreation department, called Habeeb “a very dedicated employee and an outstanding tennis instructor. The program he conducted had phenomenal results.”
His high school coaching resume is impressive. During his 30 years of coaching, the boys’ team has reached the regional championship 10 times and picked up a state title in 2008. The girls have made it into 27 regional title matches, including a run of four state championships from 1992 to 1995. The boys and girls teams won more than 300 match victories between them with his coaching.
Dwight Hunter served as Caribou High School’s athletic director until 2001 and said Habeeb made Caribou into one of the top tennis programs in the state.
“Every spring you would find John on snow-covered courts with a snow blower and shovel working to clear the courts for his athletes to get on them as soon as possible,” Hunter said. “John’s players would see how hard he worked for them to achieve success, and they in turn would work hard for him and become successful both on and off the courts.”
WAGM-TV sports director Rene Cloukey said Habeeb was one of the driving forces behind having new tennis courts built on the school’s campus. Previously, the team’s home matches and practices were held at the Teague Park courts.
“He’s the Pied Piper of tennis in Caribou,” Cloukey said. “There are six courts now and this gives the athletes a chance to play right at the school, along with physical education teachers putting tennis in the school’s curriculum.”
Habeeb received the Caribou Development Corporation’s “Spirit of the Community Award” in 1996. He was named the Maine Sunday Telegram Boys’ Tennis Coach of the Year in 2008 and has been named Penobscot Valley Conference Coach of the Year on 11 occasions.
Habeeb is a special education teacher at Caribou Middle School, a position he has held since 1988.
The induction banquet and ceremony is set for June 26 at the Alfond Girls and Boys Club in Waterville. Habeeb, the two other local inductees, Mark Rossignol and Richard Cormier, and other inductees from the other regions of the state will be honored for their contributions to athletics in Maine.
Editor’s Note: This is the first of three articles featuring each of the Maine Sports Hall of Legends-Northern Region 2018 inductees.
