Dennis Dacus ran with the idea, helped build it, and they came in droves.

In late October of 2023, Dacus, the Boothbay Region Elementary School athletic director and boys' basketball coach, as well as a Boothbay Region High School physical education teacher, met with BRHS and BRES basketball coaches, BRHS athletic director Allan Crocker and others. Dacus had been asked by parents to start a youth basketball program at BRES after the YMCA didn’t start up its basketball program after the pandemic.

“I had experience in running such programs when I worked at Winslow Parks and Recreation,” said Dacus. “I was willing to do this (at BRES) if everyone at the meeting was ‘in’ to help.”

In November, flyers outlining the BRES youth basketball program for grades K through six were made available for parents. BRHS boys coach Dan Hallinan was in charge of the grades 5-6 boys program, BRHS girls coach Bruce Orne was in charge of the girls grades 3-6 program – and he eventually helped with the grades 1-2 program as well – and BRES girls coach Allison Crocker and her mother, Barbara, helped with the pre-K and K program.

Parent volunteers helped as well, and the program was off and running by early December. Practices and drills were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Saturday mornings, and the older groups participated in travel basketball, playing on Saturdays in Bath, Damariscotta, Dresden and Wiscasset.

“And several high school players showed up to help teach the game to the young players as well,” said Dacus.

In total, over 100 kids participated in the eight-week, first-year program; the breakdown of the number of players in the various groups being: K-2 girls, 16; K-2 boys, 39; 3-6 girls, 18; 3-4 boys, 18; and 5-6 boys, 18.

“We charged $20 per child which helped pay for T-shirts and officials for the games,” said Dacus.

Dacus said they color-coded the shirts by group – white for the K-2 players, gold for the 3-4 players and blue for the 5-6 players. “We did this as sort of an incentive for the younger players to move up in the program,” said Dacus.

Coach Hallinan felt the program was not only worthy but necessary for the local school basketball programs.

“The future of the Seahawk Basketball Program or any basketball program for that matter, is heavily reliant on strong foundations established within the youth,” said Hallinan in an email. “They are the future. To invest in these young athletes at an early age is a commitment that pays dividends over the years.

“The excitement and energy these kids brought during our first year of the program was refreshing to see from a coach as well as a fan of the game. It’s important for these young players to experience these skills and drills sessions at an early age so by the time they reach the middle school and high school levels, coaches can concentrate on the team to execute and play at an elite level. Investing and buying into hard work and dedication on getting better is what this program will benefit from down the road. The future is bright for the region.”

Coach Orne agreed with Hallinan about the importance of the program.