WINSLOW — Lindsey Welch had been looking for a varsity coaching job. Then one of her former teammates gave her a heads-up.

Michelle (Murray) Paradis played with Welch when Nokomis won the Class A girls basketball title in 2001. Paradis is now the girls basketball coach at Foxcroft, and she noticed the Winslow girls job was open.

Welch applied for the job shortly after, and Monday, she officially became Winslow’s new girls basketball coach.

“I felt that I was ready try out varsity, and she kind of pushed me to apply,” Welch said.

Welch replaces Tom Nadeau, who resigned in March after compiling a 76-40 record over six seasons and making the playoffs all six years. Winslow finished 10-9 this winter, losing in the preliminary round to Medomak Valley. The Black Raiders graduated only three seniors from that team, but all three — Mariah Chenard, Elizabeth Ferry, and Jordyn Pomerleau — were impact players.

After graduating from Nokomis, Welch played four years at the University of Southern Maine. She then served as an assistant coach at USM, and moved on to Westbrook High School, where she spent one year as the freshman coach and one year as a varsity assistant. This winter, she was the freshman coach at Nokomis under coach Kori Dionne.

At Nokomis, Welch was a standout point guard for coach Earl Anderson, and was known for her defense and her tenacity. Those qualities are now part of how you’d describe her as a coach.

“I believe that we should be conditioned, and basically, I am all about defense,” Welch said. “I can thank Earl Anderson for that.”

Welch said she met with eight of the players Tuesday — just a quick meeting to introduce herself and lay out her expectations for the summer. Several players couldn’t make the meeting because Winslow had a softball game against Gardiner.

Dionne said Welch easily established a rapport with the Nokomis players this past season.

“Coaching is definitely where she belongs,” Dionne said. “It’s definitely a huge loss for us, but I hope Winslow understands what a gain it is for them.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

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