For Dan Hallinan, the 2020-21 high school basketball season was going to be a special one. It was going to be his first as a high school varsity coach, but on Oct. 28, Maine Principals Association delayed the winter sports season with a memo to member schools. 

“While we totally understand that people would like an answer today, this is a process that involves multiple state agencies, all looking through a different lens, trying to come to some form of agreement about what can and can’t take place and when it may be safe to do so,” the email read in delaying the previously scheduled Nov. 16 beginning of the winter sports season.

So Hallinan along with players, other coaches, officials and fans will have to wait a little longer for the winter season. Hallinan is a 2009 Boothbay Region graduate. He played for I.J. Pinkham and coached with the longtime Seahawk coach since 2012. “I’m crushed. I was looking forward to coaching, but I’m not surprised with all that’s happened,” Hallinan said. “I hope we have a season. I’m ready to go. This year, we have a lot of ‘horses’ back. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to coaching this team.”

Boothbay Region girls varsity coach Brian Blethen is equally disappointed in the season’s delay and uncertainty over whether any season will occur. “I hope all involved can find the will to find a way to provide winter sports for our student athletes,” Blethen said.

Hallinan reported there are 30 players in the boys’ program. Several are participating in a fall, non-school sponsored basketball season being led by Evan Hepburn. If the entire MPA season is lost, Hallinan hopes at least a school intramural season with his players split into three squads is allowed.

Blethen has 14 players in the girls’ program. He is hoping some sort of season happens for the sake of Maine’s high school athletes. “I'm concerned with getting players together to connect with each other, work on their game and promote school pride and unity. The tournament is low on my priority list at this point. Student activity and well being are at the top,” Blethen said. 

Among Blethen’s returning players is daughter Glory Blethen. The pandemic resulted in no organized high school summer basketball. So she spent her time training with sister Faith Blethen who plays for George Washington University. Glory Blethen also ran cross country this fall and worked out consistently in preparation for the winter basketball season.

She is now focusing on being ready for when her final high school basketball season begins. “Whether it’s starting later this winter or playing only regional teams, anything is everything for me,” she said. “I love this sport so much and I would love to end my senior year with a basketball season. If we do not have one, I will continue to go to the gym and push myself to get better.”

On the boys’ side, the Ames brothers are hopeful the season is only delayed and not cancelled. In his final season, Kaleb Ames, a senior, is looking for an expanded leadership role with the Seahawks. “Even if you’re not a captain, you have more say as a senior, and it matters more. So that is what I’m looking forward to the most,” he said.

This is Kayden Ames’ second year on the varsity squad. As a sophomore, he is expected to play more minutes. “This is the beginning of a new time for Boothbay basketball. We have a new coach and there is a lot of energy for the new season and I can’t wait to get started,” he said. 

The Ames brothers are two of nine local high school basketball players participating in the fall basketball league at Midcoast Athletic Center in Warren. The local team was practicing a couple times a week and playing a weekly game against other Midcoast teams from Lincoln Academy, Oceanside and Medomak Valley. Last month, Medomak Valley High School reported five boys’ soccer players, who also participated in the fall basketball league, tested positive for COVID-19. 

The positive test resulted in a couple Boothbay region basketball players opting out of the recreational basketball league. However, the Ames brothers continued playing. “A couple weeks were cancelled due to the positive tests and a couple teammates stopped participating,” Kaleb Ames said. “It went from playing every week to every once in a while. I understand why some guys stopped playing,” Kaleb Ames said. 

The MPA allowed for a modified fall season which ended on Oct. 31.  The fall season allowed 10 games instead of 14 versus regional opponents and no post-season. The MPA did not provide a timetable for a decision on whether or not a winter season is held.