Two weeks after his team snapped a 122-game losing streak, Daniel Wall is no longer coaching the Wiscasset girls basketball team.

Wiscasset Middle High School Athletic Director Brandon Rogers said Monday morning, “We’re just moving forward in a different direction.”

Wiscasset coach Daniel Wall gestures to players during a timeout in their game at Morse on Wednesday night. The Wolverines recently beat Islesboro, 24-21, breaking a 122-game losing streak dating back to December 2016. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

“We just decided to part ways, and we are looking to move forward in a positive direction,” he added.

Jamey Roy, head coach of the Wiscasset boys basketball team, will lead the girls team on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.

Roy said he first heard the news of the coaching change on the way to Friday’s home game against Carrabec.

“I can’t get into the details here, but they needed a coach for the rest of the season, so I’m gonna finish up the year with the girls,” Roy said.

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On Monday night, the Wolverines (1-11) fell to Temple Academy (7-7) in Waterville, 46-12. Wall, who was in his first-year as head coach, was briefly in attendance ahead of the game to offer support to his former team.

“I couldn’t ask for a better coach,” Wall said of Roy replacing him. “He’s the right man to take over the job.”

Wall added that he will provide a statement with more detail by the end of the week.

Wiscasset Superintendent Kim Andersson acknowledged a coaching change in the girls basketball program in an email to The Times Record on Monday.

“I would add to this that the hard work, dedication, resiliency, and pride our student athletes are pouring into their teams is inspirational,” she wrote. “That combined with the high expectations for sportsmanship and professionalism shared by our coaching staff and AD, Brandon Rogers, is truly making our program first rate. … Our future is bright.”

The Wolverines had lost 122 straight games dating to December 2016. The streak came to a close when Wiscasset beat Islesboro, 24-21, earlier this month.

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When asked why a coaching change was made so late in the season, Rogers said, “I think that was just the time that we chose, and I think we’re moving forward.”

Rogers, who last year was the athletic director and girls basketball coach at St. Dominic Academy, added that no specific incident led to a coaching change.

To Michael Richardson, a parent of one of the players on the Wiscasset girls basketball team, Friday’s coaching change came as a shock.

“My daughter’s had a huge improvement playing under him, and this team’s made a huge improvement,” Richardson said on Monday night. “I mean, it’s unbelievable. He won our first game in eight years, so obviously, for a lot of us, we felt like he’s been a godsend for the team as far as the progress we’ve made on the court.”

Richardson has expressed his frustration with the decision on Facebook, replying to a Portland Press Herald post about the Wiscasset girls basketball team with “… Coach Wall was unjustly fired 2 days after this interview…The AD and the administration had it out for him from day 1 and no amount of success was going to protect him…”

“It didn’t feel like he was very supported, and it’s tough to accept,” Richardson said on Monday. “With being a parent, I felt like we were making a ton of progress, and obviously the school didn’t agree with that. I don’t know if they didn’t agree with the way he was coaching the team, or, (like I said), we haven’t been told anything, just kind of a generic statement about how they were going in a different direction.”

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Rogers responded, saying, “We definitely support Coach Wall. We appreciate everything he’s done. We’re just moving in a positive direction moving forward.”

Roy said the girls basketball team has responded well to the sudden coaching change. Ten players dressed for Monday’s game against Temple, two more than the Jan. 22 game at Morse.

“The team’s young, they got mostly sophomores, so they are going to get better,” Roy added. “I just want to finish (the season), so they have a positive taste in their mouth about basketball.”

Roy added: “They’ve been perfect to me, no issues at all. They’re playing hard for me. Kind of a tough situation for them. They were running a system that their coach had all season, and then they got a new guy in here. I’m still doing a lot of what they were doing, I haven’t changed much. Just want them to play and have fun.” 

With Roy in charge, Richardson says he still has optimism for the rest of the season.

“We don’t know what’s coming, moving forward, but as far as the end of the season, I’m completely comfortable with Coach Roy coaching the team. He’s a great coach, great guy. Yeah, so that’s the one positive out of it.”

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