FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — This time last year, the Fort Fairfield boys basketball team had nearly the same roster. That team, led by first-year coach Vaughn McLaughlin, went far, gathering a 12-6 record and making it to the playoffs.
Yet, the Tigers lost in the preliminary round of the playoffs to a Sumner team that had massive offensive production in the fourth quarter.
McLaughlin said this year is different. While it is the same cadre of kids, they are now older, wiser and more experienced than they were before.
“I only had one player last year that had any varsity time,” McLaughlin said. “Now, I have six or seven kids.”
McLaughlin’s work often seems cut out for him. He is first and foremost a student of the game of basketball. He played it himself in his youth and said he had coached locally, on-and-off, since the early 1980s. He uses these analytical skills to measure and beat the competition.
He is quickly able to name off facts about each of the teams on his schedule. Sumner is a hard game because they have a “real deal” kid who is 6-foot-7. Penobscot Valley will be a tough game because of the increased “size,” many of the kids acquire from the football program.
He said his team would be able to succeed on athletic ability alone. It is their basketball IQ that will help them dominate the competition this year, and accomplish his goal of improving on their 12 wins last year.
“We have to do it with skill level,” McLaughlin said. “Not body weight or body mass.”
It may be simpler than ever for players to work on areas of improvement, as McLaughlin said he has begun to videotape practices. He plans to do the same for games.
“I want them to be able to see what they’re doing on the floor instead of just talking about it all the time,” McLaughlin said. “We have the technology, so I feel like I need to use it.”
McLaughlin’s basketball ethos goes beyond the game itself, however. While he said he could be aggressive and even “intense” in his quest for success, he also makes a concentrated effort to drive leadership skills into players.
He said that he and the Fort Fairfield basketball program were trying to build a “culture of collaboration,” in which students play with a higher purpose in mind.
“I tell kids that there are younger kids watching them play and that are watching them drive their pick-up out of the parking lot,” McLaughlin said. “It’s not just about how you balance a basketball or play defense or rebound. It is also about this entire community.”
Chase Griffeth, a senior, said he was excited to get back on the floor and set his team up for a good playoff run. With a similar roster to last year’s team, he is looking forward to being able to build upon last year’s success.
“It feels like the exact same team, so that’s an advantage,” Griffeth said. “We don’t feel loss anywhere.”
The members of the 2019-2020 Fort Fairfield boys basketball team are seniors Chase Griffeth, Grayden Griffeth, Wyatt Keegan, Colby Langner and Dawson Watson; juniors Kadin Barnes, Avery Cormier and Kobe West; sophomores Dominik Barnes-Garcia, Chase Coiley, Josh Gill, Zachary McShea and Alex Oakes; and freshmen Zak Gerhauser and Blake Senal.
