The Beavers captured five consecutive championships from 2011-2015, with Mike Carlos coaching the team to the first two and Diana Trams to the final three. Trams stepped down last spring soon after Washburn was eliminated in the semifinal round of the Class D North tournament.
Putnam was a basketball standout at Hodgdon from 1998-2002 and made second team all-state his senior year. He went on to play collegiately at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H.
After graduating in 2006, he coached middle school basketball for one season in Houlton and then the varsity boys’ team at Hodgdon for a year before moving on to the Acton School Department for eight years, where he served as athletic director, soccer coach and basketball coach.
He was hired as a social studies teacher at WDHS this past summer and then applied for and was hired for the vacant girls’ basketball coaching position.
“It is intimidating to walk down the hallway and see gold ball after gold ball after gold ball shining through the trophy case,” Putnam said, “but I truly believe each new basketball season is unique and should be treated differently. It is a fresh start with new expectations and goals.”
The 32-year-old Putnam, who began his coaching duties in earnest on Nov. 21, said his philosophy is getting his players to compete at a high level whenever they take to the court.
“I want my student-athletes to not worry about winning or losing but just to compete every practice, varsity game, pick-up game in the backyard, or even a game of horse with your friends,” he said. “If you concentrate on competing at your highest level, the winning will follow.”
WDHS Athletic Director Ron Ericson was pleased to have someone the caliber of Putnam take over a winning program.
“Tyler has a deep appreciation of what the game has done for him and he is desiring to pass that on to the players that he will have now,” Ericson said. “We are indeed fortunate to have him as he is very personable and knowledgable and has a wide range of experiences in the game.”
