McAvoy among those to be inducted into Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honors

16 years ago

An athlete, educator, coach …
McAvoy among those to be inducted into Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honors

Image    SHERMAN MILLS – William ‘Bill’ McAvoy, longtime athlete, educator and coach, is one of the newest inductees into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honors. McAvoy will represent the Northern Region in the Hall for 2008. The official induction will take place at the 13th annual Maine Sports Legends banquet on Oct. 12 at noon in the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville.
    McAvoy was an outstanding high school athlete at Sherman and Katahdin. In his junior and senior years, 1967-68, he was chosen as an All-Tournament team member.
    “Bill was one of the most polite, caring and hardest workers I had ever coached. He conducted himself the same way outside the sports setting,” said McAvoy’s high school coach Ron Marks. “We won the State Class S Championship, beating Strong High School, with Bill being the key man on the Sherman team .”
    At Unity College, McAvoy set four hoop records, was chosen Outstanding Small College Athlete of America, had the most points in one season and game, was selected to the Outstanding College Athletes of America Hall of Fame, and was named to the All-Maine and All-Conference teams. After college, McAvoy played semi-professional basketball for three years with Terry’s Texaco and Sunoco teams.
    McAvoy started his coaching career at Central Aroostook in 1972 under, as he described, “an extremely hard-working and motivated coach, Frank Keenan.” McAvoy was at Central Aroostook as assistant coach and head coach for 19 years. After taking a couple of years off, he returned to coaching at Katahdin for 12 years.
    “He absolutely loves the game of basketball and the kids he has coached. He is a real student of the game, and he never stops trying to learn more about it. Billy, as I call him, still looks at tapes and reads articles about basketball. He is very intense and that rubs off on his teams,” said Dick Barstow who has known McAvoy since the fifth grade.
    McAvoy’s Katahdin team won the 2000 Class D Eastern Maine title, and McAvoy posted his 300th win.
    “Bill has a tremendous knowledge of basketball, so the kids have confidence in him. He creates a good team atmosphere where all the kids work together. He brings out their best qualities,” said Bob Dyer, Katahdin athletic director.
    McAvoy was chosen Class D coach of the year four times during his career. “Throughout his career of over 30 years coaching at Central Aroostook and Katahdin, his teams have been among the most successful programs in the state,” said Keenan.
    McAvoy was also involved in the community running basketball camps for over 20 years at Mars Hill and Katahdin, keeping open gym four nights a week during the school year and running basketball clinics for local recreation departments.
    McAvoy has a large family of four brothers and four sisters; they, along with their families, his parents and wife, till up a good part of the gym when his team plays.
    “We are all very close,” said his sister Lisa Rush. “It always seemed like Billy and I have been watching out for one another. He has taught me what the game is all about. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
    In an interview with Mike Conley, McAvoy was asked what he enjoyed most about his job. His response was, “The thing I enjoy most is after the kids have graduated, five or ten years later, looking at the success they’re having in their lives. I find myself hoping that I played some part in that. That’s the one big thing that stands out in my mind.”