BATH — Ryan Maines grew up around the Morse High School basketball programs.

Now, he gets to lead one of them.

Maines, the son of Maine Basketball Hall of Fame coach Tom Maines, was named the next Morse girls basketball coach, school athletic director Nathan Priest announced recently.

“I was kind of just born into the game of basketball,” said Ryan Maines. “Being exposed to the game as much as I was at a young age, I was basically brought up on the court.”

Maines, 47, remembers as a youngster watching his dad guide the Morse boys to three consecutive Class A state titles in the late 1980s. Tom Maines retired in August 2020 with 374 victories. Maines would then become a standout for the Shipbuilders, earning all-state honorable mention honors before graduating in 1993.

Now,  he is returning to his alma mater.

“My passion for basketball and for Morse has been reignited over the past couple of years,” said Maines, who previously coached at Morse Middle School, as well as some AAU teams in the Bath area. “I’ve always wanted to give back and lead my own program.”

He’ll get that chance now.

Maines replaces Jeannine Paradis, who left Morse last summer to become the girls basketball coach at her alma mater, Biddeford High School.

“Coach Maines was extremely genuine and down to earth in his interview,” said Priest. “He had a good plan in how to pick up where coach Paradis left off.”

Priest added that Maines — whose brother, TJ Maines, coaches the Cony High School boys program — stood out amongst a strong field of candidates.

“While the surname Maines and Morse will forever go hand in hand, Ryan (Maines) presented himself as someone who wanted to carve out his own identity in Maine high school basketball,” said Priest. “He certainly knows the game given his family and upbringing and will have tremendous resources at his fingertips, but he is eager to create his own program at Morse.”

Maines said he is familiar with some of the girls in the program, having coached them in AAU.

“I know a bunch of these players already, which is a beautiful thing,” he said. “I’ve had so much exposure to the game and a heck of a foundation to start my own program.”

Maines takes over a Morse program that has struggled in recent years but was trending upward under the leadership of Paradis. The Shipbuilders snapped a 46-game losing streak last February, one that had stretched over two calendar years.

“The school and community have put their faith in me,” said Maines. “It’s going to take some time, but this program will grow together and I don’t plan on letting them down.”

With practices set to begin Nov. 22, Maines knows he has a lot to learn in a short amount of time.

“I know I and the team have a lot to cover before the season begins,” said Maines. “I’m hoping we can grow together on and off the court as we look to build this program back up.”

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