Kayla Brown has stepped down as the girls basketball coach at Caribou High School after leading the Vikings to a Class B state championship this past season.
She called it a “really tough decision” that follows a new addition to her family. She and her husband welcomed their newborn son this winter.
“And so that just kind of shifted my perspective a little bit,” Brown said. “As much as I love my team and love basketball, I just feel responsibility to devote all of my attention to that new chapter of my life at this point.”
Brown spent eight years as head coach for the Vikings, who won their first ever girls state championship in March in a thrilling 49-48 overtime victory over Biddeford. Brown was asked if that success made it harder or easier to step away now.
“In some ways it’s definitely harder because we just came off an unforgettable season, and I think we return a strong core group of kids that I really enjoy as kids, as people too,” she said. “And then on the other side, I think it does give me a little bit of peace knowing I can walk away on a strong note. So, a little bit of both I guess.”
Brown was co-coach of the year in the Big East Conference as Caribou went 17-1 during the regular season leading up to its Class B title run.
She expects a different season in general for the Vikings next year as they move down to Class C as part of a statewide basketball reclassification. The Vikings also will lose five seniors from this year’s squad, including Miss Maine Basketball award winner Madelynn Deprey who powered the team through the tournament.
Despite the changes, Brown expects the Vikings to be competitive next season.
“I think there’s a group of young kids that’s extremely dedicated, and they’ve seen success and I think that always makes a difference,” Brown said, noting how success can lead to more success. “They’ve gotten a taste of that and I think they, hopefully will carry that over and want to achieve that again.”
She pointed to junior Liv Adams as “a big impact player” along with freshmen Quinn Corrigan and Lily Bell for their contributions this season, expecting that they can continue to step up for the Vikings.
Corrigan delivered a play for the ages at the end of the state championship game, stealing the ball in the final seconds of overtime when a desperate Caribou team was down by one point. Corrigan was fouled, and calmly knocked down two foul shots to seal the improbable win for the Vikings.
Brown, a former player who won a high school state championship with neighboring Presque Isle, will continue to teach English at Caribou High School and plans to support the team in a different role.
“I told the girls just a few days ago, I said, ‘I’ll be around,’” Brown said. “I’ll be watching the games and stuff, and still looking forward to being a big supporter of the team, just in a different capacity.”
Brown said she appreciated support from the school administration and Caribou community, and will miss developing connections with the players — both as athletes and people. She hopes the community support and team success will get others involved.
“Our community was really behind us, and saw some success that the girls basketball program hasn’t had in a long time,” Brown said. “And I’m hoping that just makes more people want to be a part of it.”
The coaching vacancy is posted on the RSU 39 website, and interested potential coaches can send applications to Superintendent Jane McCall.
