Gavin Kane, who led Dirigo High School to a state record 11 consecutive Western Maine championships, has been named the new girls’ basketball coach at Mt. Blue High School.

The SAD 9 school board approved Kane’s hiring on Tuesday night. He replaces Tom Philbrick, who resigned in July after five years leading the Cougars.

Kane’s Dirigo teams dominated Western Class C from 1994 to 2007, winning every regional title from 1995 to 2005 and state championships in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005. He also coached the boys at Dirigo from 2005-09, winning the Western C title in 2009 with center Thomas Knight, who went on to play at Notre Dame.

After a brief stint as an assistant coach for Cindy Blodgett at the University of Maine, Kane returned to high school coaching with Spruce Mountain High School of Jay/Livermore Falls in 2011. In three years, he led the Phoenix to three tournament appearances, including a trip to the Western B semifinals last year, where they lost to Wells, their only loss of the season. Kane, who also coached the Rangeley boys to a Class D state title in 1989, collected his 500th career victory last season.

Kane’s daughters, Caitlin, a junior, and Chelsea, a sophomore, both attend Mt. Blue and play basketball.

Mt. Blue finished 9-11 last year after nearly upsetting top-seeded Edward Little in the Eastern A quarterfinals.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.