SCARBOROUGH — Harvey Moynihan raised his arms on the sideline at Monday’s practice to remind Scarborough center Jake Gardner of the importance of the defensive maneuver. Moments later, he told guard Emmett Peoples to push the ball on the break.
Moynihan is in his first season as an assistant coach for the Scarborough High varsity boys’ basketball team. He may be a new face to the Red Storm players, but he brings a wealth of experience to the sideline.
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Moynihan, 67, won over 300 games as a boys’ varsity coach at Gray-New Gloucester and North Yarmouth Academy. In 1975, Gray-New Gloucester won the Class C state title with an 85-78 overtime win over Narraguagus at the Bangor Auditorium. His career also includes three seasons as the GNG girls’ coach, a couple of seasons as co-freshmen coach at South Portland with former Deering coach David Brenner and one season as a varsity assistant for the Red Riots.
At an age when most of his contemporaries are retired, Moynihan is still doing what he has always done, but perhaps enjoying it a lot more.
“I like being an assistant coach and I don’t have to ride on the buses,” he said. “Plus, I’m not good with a lot of extra time. I don’t golf.”
Moynihan’s knowledge has already helped Scarborough (2-1) as it navigates through Western Maine Class A this season.
Peoples, a sophomore, hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points in a 55-47 win over Westbrook in the second game of the season. Gardner, a 6-foot-7 junior, is also off to a fast start. He is the only player over 6-4 on the team, which makes his presence and continuing improvement essential to the team’s success.
Seniors Milani Hicks, Nate Wessel and Sam Freeman are the cornerstones of the Red Storm, but for them to make a playoff run, they will need contributions from new varsity players such as Peoples.
Moynihan started working with the Red Storm players during summer practices and league play. Three times a week, Moynihan was in the gym working with Gardner on his post moves, with Peoples on his ballhandling and with the other players honing their individual skills.
“I got to know the kids. They’re a great bunch,” said Moynihan.
When an opening for a varsity assistant became available at Scarborough, Coach Tony DiBiase snatched up Moynihan. DiBiase, Moynihan and another varsity assistant, Bryan Hoy, all work at South Portland High. After retiring as a social studies/history teacher at GNG eight years ago, Moynihan stayed in education. For the last seven years, he has worked as an educational technician at South Portland.
DiBiase, who has an impressive coaching resume (state titles at three different schools), had talked with Moynihan about joining his staff.
“I mentioned it to him a couple of years ago and told him I would love to have him if anything became available,” said DiBiase. “Harvey has been invaluable to our program. It’s been great. Harvey brings so much experience.”
Moynihan, a former basketball standout at Greely Institute in Cumberland, likes to work with all the positions, but enjoys working with post players the most.
“The big men can have such an impact on a game,” he said. “They’re the closest to the basket. I think the game has gotten away from the big-man mentality,” Moynihan said. “When I coached at Gray-New Gloucester and North Yarmouth Academy, we focused on the play of the centers. We had a strong inside-out game.”
Moynihan said he’s mellowed from his head coaching days. On many coaching staffs, the assistants are the ones the players approach when they have an issue.
“He’s very calm,” said Gardner. “Coach Moynihan has helped me a lot with my rebounding and moves in the paint. I used to bring the ball down low instead of keeping it up high after a rebound. He stressed the importance of keeping the ball up high. Coach has worked a lot with me on drills to help my footwork.”
Peoples added: “He’s a really good coach. Coach Moynihan has stressed the importance of pushing the ball and keeping my head up to spot the open man.”
But as far as being calm? Not so fast, said DiBiase.
“I’ve had to hold him down on the bench because he got so excited,” he said.
It appears Moynihan hasn’t lost any of his old fire.
“He’s as much a teacher as he is a coach,” Brenner said. “He has a knack for knowing what makes each player tick. He can be stern, but he’s fair. Harvey keeps it simple as a coach. He loves to coach the inside game and the half-court press.”
Moynihan coached both his sons, Brian, 47, and Scott, 42, in high school. He coached Brian when he was the head coach at GNG and Scott when he was at NYA. His youngest son said it’s no mystery why his father is still involved in coaching.
“My father loves the teaching part of coaching,” said Scott. “He loves taking a young kid with raw talent and turning him into a basketball player. He still enjoys the interaction with the kids.”
During the summer, Moynihan and his wife, Sherri, like to spend time near the ocean. They’re avid gardeners and Moynihan, who once owned horses, still drops by the track on occasion.
But when the air turns cold, the leaves are off the trees and the ground is covered with snow, the lure of teaching the game of basketball retains its strong pull.
“It’s still in his blood,” said Scott Moynihan.
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