Chad Cyr’s youngest of his three children will be a freshman basketball player at Fort Kent High School in the fall.
After leading Fort Kent’s varsity boys team to the school’s first state basketball championship, Cyr is stepping down so he can cheer on his son Austin as a fan, not a coach.
“It was a hard decision to make, but I made it. I want to be a dad in the stands for [Austin],” said the 47-year-old Cyr.
He said he mulled over his decision throughout the season.
Fort Kent beat Maranacook of Readfield 70-63 in the Class C state final at the Augusta Civic Center in February to claim its first gold ball.
“I was worried about abandoning the [next year’s] seniors. But I won’t be abandoning them. I will be at every single game watching my son,” said Cyr.
Cyr also pointed out that his Cyr Boys Construction concrete company in Fort Kent Mills is “real, real busy in the summer, and that’s when it is development time for the kids [in summer basketball]. And I can’t give them what they deserve for time during the summer.”
Cyr had guided his 2022-23 team to its first-ever berth in a regional championship game, where it lost to Calais in the C North final. His oldest child, Keegan, played in that game.
He said his seven years coaching the Warriors were “a lot of fun.”
“I had big support from the parents, big support from the administration and I had awesome kids to coach,” said Cyr. “Being in the gym with the boys made the winters go by.”
The Portage native and former four-sport athlete at Ashland High School (soccer, basketball, baseball and golf) said it feels “nice” going out as a state champion.
“We had a good run. We had good team chemistry. I’ve coached all of them since they were freshmen,” said Cyr. “I had a tight bond with them. It seemed like the time to hang up my hat.”
Even though seven seniors will graduate, Cyr said the new coach will inherit a “great team” that will include current juniors brothers Aden and Jaden Jeffers, Sam Johnson, Mason Pelletier and Dom Cyr, along with sophomore Kyle Paradis.
“They’re going to be good, for sure,” said Cyr who also has a senior daughter, Emma, with wife, Melissa.
He acknowledged that he will miss it even though he will be going to all of their games, home and away.
“But it is what it is,” said Cyr.
