Maine women’s hoops displays consistent culture of excellence on and off court | Bangor Local Sports

ORONO – “In our program, we strive for excellence in everything we do,” says Maine women’s basketball head coach Amy Vachon.

A simple statement- but it’s one that’s resonated through her program for the past eight years. Yes, the Black Bears are doing a lot of winning on the court at Memorial Gym- but it doesn’t end there.

For the fifth straight season, Vachon’s Black Bears have clocked in at top five in the nation in GPA. This year, the Black Bear’s finished third among Division I schools in the WBCA Academic Top 25, with a team average of 3.856.

“To obtain GPAs of 3.8 and 3.9 is just incredible while playing a full-time, Division I sport,” Vachon says. “[The players] take seriously that it’s important to do well in school It’s important to do well on the court, and it’s also important to have a life. You’re a total human being.”

That success isn’t limited to the court or the classroom, either.

“In the community, when they go and do community service, and in the classroom- we talk a lot about, it’s not getting an ‘A’ in every class, it’s striving for excellence,” Vachon says.

High expectations have been the standard for Vachon’s full tenure in Orono and, now entering her eighth year at the helm, that culture of excellence is just as customary in Maine as snow in the winter.

“When I became the head coach, there were definitely standards that I thought- non negotiables- that were really important to me, and so those are what they are,” Vachon says. “And then each year it’s a little bit different with our team and what the expectations are. What doesn’t change is that strive to be excellent and that’s been there since day one.”

It’s all come together where Vachon can consistently show young girls in Maine- as she was- a group of role models right here in their own state.

“You want to have strong females to look up to, and I think our team has a great group of young women that they can look up to in a number of different areas,” Vachon says. “Yes, the court might be where they see them first, but then you get to know them and you see what great humans they are and students and just great people to be around.”