Wells High School basketball coach Don Abbott named 'Coach of the Year' by peers

WELLS — Wells High School girls basketball head coach Don Abbott has been named Class B South Coach of the Year by the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches (MABC).

This is the third time Abbott has received this award, the first being in 2014 and then again in 2020. Abbott has coached at Wells for the past 16 years, leading the Warriors to the 2020 Class B state championship.

“What a great honor for coach Abbott to be named Coach of the Year for a third time,” stated Wells athletics director Pat Moody. “He has built our girls basketball program into one of the most competitive and most respected programs in the state. Congratulations should also go to his entire staff for being an integral part of the success.”

Each year the MABC allows high school basketball coaches from around Maine to select two of their seniors to participate in the annual Maine McDonald’s High School Senior All-Star Basketball Game. The game was held last month and Grace Boucher and Grace Ramsdell represented Wells.

“It’s more of a reflection of our program and the type of kids that we have,” said Abbott about Coach of the Year. “When you get something like that from your peers it speaks to the quality of the kids that you have in the program more so than coaching (with) X’s and O’s and strategy. It’s more about how your team carries themselves, the way they compete, and that kind of thing.”

Abbot and his team have also been recognized for their work off of the court by raising a current total of $300,000 for breast cancer awareness and care at York Hospital by way of the team’s annual "Shootin’ for a Cure” program.

Abbott has taught fifth grade for 23 years at Wells Junior High School where, in 2021, he was selected to become the school’s assistant principal.

“Donnie Abbott has been a tremendous asset to the Wells-Ogunquit school community,” said Superintendent James Daly. “He has served our district in many different capacities and has excelled in all of them. He is (an) outstanding educator that truly cares about all students. We are very fortunate to have him working with our students, athletes, teachers, and staff."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells High School basketball coach Don Abbott named 'Coach of the Year'