Basketball is a way of life for some Maine families. That’s especially true when the family has a player and coach on the same team.
And while parents coaching their children is certainly nothing new, there seems to be a wave of that family dynamic at the top of boys basketball this year. Some of the best players in Maine’s northern region are also coached by their fathers.
Take Machias senior point guard Mickey Fitzsimmons and Bulldogs head coach Chad Fitzsimmons, for example. Together, they’re key figures helping to lead the charge for boys Class D North’s No. 1 team.
“We try to leave basketball at the court,” Mickey Fitzsimmons said about playing on a team coached by his dad. “I mean, we talk about it at home and stuff. It’s tough playing for your dad, obviously you see him all the time, which is kind of annoying at some points. But it’s good overall.”
As to whether that family connection comes with special treatment on the team, the younger Fitzsimmons said his dad treats him harder, not easier, than other players.
“That’s for sure,” the senior point guard said with a smile. “He would tell you the same thing.”
It’s the same story for standout Cony freshman Carter Brathwaite, who plays for his father Isaiah Brathwaite on the Rams team from Augusta.
“He’s way harder on me,” Carter Brathwaite said after No. 1 Cony dispatched No. 8 Presque Isle in Class B North action. But the freshman phenom seems fine with that. The chance to compete together with his dad in the postseason has been on his mind for some time.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve been waiting for this moment,” the younger Brathwaite said.
Isaiah Brathwaite agreed that he treats his son harder than others on the team, but he does it for a reason.
“He knows at the end of the day I’m trying to help him,” the coach said. “I’m not trying to go against him.”
Coach Brathwaite said it took some adjusting to the father-son coaching dynamic this season, but there are way more good things about it than challenges because he and his son communicate well.
“At first, it was a little different dynamic because he’s used to me being in the crowd,” he said. “But now that I’m on the sidelines with him, it took a second to adjust, but we’ve been good with it throughout the season. Just taking it all in and enjoying the moments when we have them.”
Chad Fitzsimmons had a similar read-out about coaching his son in Machias.
“It’s been awesome, really,” Fitzsimmons said. “He’s like a second coach on the floor. He’s our leader. He knows what I’m thinking before I think it, and it’s great to have him as a second coach on the floor.”
That second coach description is a common one in this situation.
Before the tournament started, Bangor Christian boys coach Kevin Reed spoke about his experience coaching his son and junior guard Rajon Reed. The younger Reed was a Bangor Daily News All-Tournament team selection last year as just a sophomore.
“He makes it really easy for me.” Kevin Reed said about his son. “There’s a coach on the floor that is going to get everybody where they need to be before we try to execute. And there’s a general on the floor. It’s really easy to coach somebody like him because he’s active, he’s one of my hardest workers.”
While the Bangor Christian boys have since been knocked out of the Class D North tournament, Rajon Reed has firmly established himself as one of the most impressive players in the division.
“He’s everything that I think a coach would want,” Kevin Reed said about Rajon Reed. “He just happens to be my son.”
For Madawaska boys coach Shawn Pelletier, not one but two of his best players are his sons. And they also happen to be among the best players in the state.
Older son Brayden Pelletier is a senior and was recently named a McDonald’s All-Star. Younger son Quinn Pelletier is a freshman who was the first-ever eighth grader to win an MVP award on the BDN’s All-Tournament team last year.
Both Pelletier boys appreciate the chance to learn from their father as their coach.
“I think it’s nice having someone you can talk to outside of practice,” Brayden Pelletier said. “You kind of get that input.”
He and his brother said there would be a lot of basketball talk in their house regardless of whether their dad was their coach or not.
“I like it. He’s been our coach for a long time, since we were young,” Quinn Pelletier said. “He knows us, obviously.”
The younger Pelletier brother also found it interesting that there are several father-son pairings among the top players in the tournament.
“I just think it’s cool that some of the best players, their coaches are their dads,” he said. “And I think that helps with their dads seeing the game and just letting them know what they can fix and what they’re doing good. And then just talking to them and having them work on it helps them.”
For Shawn Pelletier, it’s an experience that he values as “the culmination of just a long journey, a lot of work.”
The success of the Madawaska program and the individual success his sons have seen didn’t happen overnight. And he’s thankful to be a part of it all, especially the community pride surrounding the team.
“It is to see everybody come together and to coach this great team — 13 great guys — and to be with them along on this journey,” Shawn Pelletier said. “It was great last year and it’s great this year.”
He also gets to see firsthand as his sons excel on the court.
“As a dad, that’s the greatest thing, and I get to do it front row, center,” Pelletier said. “So I love that.”
