Heidi Deery isn’t prone to rash decisions. In her 22 years as head coach of the Rangeley girls basketball team, Deery has combined a belief in discipline, accountability and hard work into one of the state’s top Class D programs. But a decision she and her players made early on changed the course of a season that culminated in a state championship.
For her efforts, Deery is the Morning Sentinel Girls Basketball Coach of the Year. Lawrence coach John Donato, who led the Bulldogs to the Class A state title game, was also considered.
Rangeley’s roster this season included a trio of tested players, five freshmen and three eighth graders. Despite their youth, the Lakers enjoyed a successful summer against teams from higher classes and entered the season as the team to beat in Class D South.
The season got off to a slow start, beginning with an opening night loss to Richmond. Close wins against North Haven followed and suddenly the Lakers weren’t so sure of themselves.
“We really struggled the first couple of weeks,” Deery said.
Deery talked the issue over with her assistants and a couple of veteran players and decided to change her approach.
“We decided this group was very young and we needed to be very positive,” she said. “Constructive criticism was only going to be coming from me. Once we did that, things turned around.”
The Richmond loss was the only one of the season for the Lakers, who finished at 21-1, the final victory coming against North champion Shead before a huge partisan crowd the Augusta Civic Center.
“I have never seen the Civic Center full for any Class D game,” Deery said. “So many of our alumni. That’s my proudest part of being a coach is the girls who have gone through the program (coming back).”
This year, Deery relied heavily on defensive pressure to generate offense along with Blayke Morin, the team’s 6-foot-2 center. Morin, who was consistently double teamed the season, averaged 18 points and nine rebounds a game but also developed into one of the conference’s best passers, averaging five assists. She joined the team as an eighth grader and credits Deery with much of her development.
“She’s just great overall,” Morin said. “If you’re part of the program, you have to be committed. She’s straight-forward, she’s honest, she knows the game. She’s like a second mom to me.”
Deery transferred to Rangeley her sophomore year in high school and played on a state championship team for the Lakers in 1984. She’s been an integral part of the community ever since. She also coached Rangeley to a state championship in 1993 and 2004. She says she enjoys the familiarity of a small town.
“Everybody still wants to talk about it,” she said. “Even though I’ve won it before, it’s still an amazing feeling.”
Deery has already planned an aggressive summer schedule that includes a tournament in Rangeley, but as a veteran coach and a guidance counselor at the high school, she understands how the program fits into her players lives.
“I want to empower young women to reach their potential and I use the game of basketball to do that,” she said.
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