BANGOR, Maine — Denis Collins, the Eastern Maine Class A Coach of the Year last year, resigned Monday as head coach of the Bangor High School hockey team.
Bangor Principal Paul Butler had been conducting an investigation of an incident regarding a lack of bathroom stops that happened last week during a bus trip to and from a game at Presque Isle, normally a three-hour-plus drive.
“I guess making a comment that we weren’t going to stop eventually became my demise,” Collins said.
A time crunch was set up when the game was originally scheduled to start at 5 p.m. but was changed to 4:45 p.m. No adjustments were made in the scheduled 1 p.m. departure time from Bangor High, Collins said Monday. The bus hit the interstate at 1:15 p.m., he said.
“I did make a comment that, ‘We’re pressed for time and there would be no stops. We need to get to Presque Isle on time.’ As far as coming back, no comments were made about that.”
Collins pointed out there would be game consequences for arriving late.
“If you don’t get there in time, you can be assessed bench minors for not being on the ice on time,” said Collins.
“At no given time did any kid ask to stop on the way up,” he said. “Nobody asked to stop [on the way back]. We just went with our routine fun and conversation and some sang songs, the whole nine yards, but there was never a need to stop. Nobody asked. After a game, we typically get on the bus and go [home].
“When asked to stop in the past, I always did.”
Collins, who was in his third year as the Rams’ coach, said he was not aware that anything that could have been addressed by a bathroom break was occurring on the bus.
“If I find out anything, it’s usually after the fact,” he said. “Nothing came to my attention that night that anything was going on.”
Butler may still have some information not involving Collins that is requiring further review, said Collins.
“Anything that may have gone on that is not kosher, or whatever the case may be, … the school is dealing with it,” he said.
In hindsight, Collins sees where he might have handled the situation differently.
“Could anything have been done differently? I guess now, after the fact, yeah, there is,” he said. “Now you look at it and say, well, jeez, I could have stopped. I could have asked them to stop, but if nobody asks me to stop, why would I stop? That’s the only difference.”
Butler declined to confirm or discuss any details when interviewed last week, and further details were not included in a release from the school late Monday afternoon.
Phone messages left with Butler and Bangor Athletic Director Steve Vanidestine on Monday were not returned.
It was stated in the school’s release that Butler and Vanidestine accepted Collins’ resignation during a meeting Monday.
“Recent decisions and communication regarding team travel put students in a situation that does not reflect the standards of Bangor High School programs,” according to the release. “To his credit, Mr. Collins offered his resignation in the interest of avoiding interference with the remainder of the season.”
Collins said he resigned to prevent any disruption to the team.
“My resignation will remove any continued drama that could disrupt their championship momentum,” he said. “This team has potential to win both Eastern Maine and state championships. … It is with much regret that I resign. I have not had the opportunity to say goodbye to the team, so therefore I would like to wish them good luck and great success.”
Collins said leaving wasn’t easy.
“There is a lot of difficulty in this. I have coached some of these kids for close to 10 and, some, 12 years and enjoyed a trip to the [youth hockey] national level with this team in 2010,” he said.
Assistant coach Quinn Paradis was the acting head coach for Saturday’s 8-2 victory over Lawrence of Fairfield, and he will continue in that capacity.
For now, Collins expects to spend the winter watching his son, Andrew, play for the Brewer Witches.
“My daughter says, ‘What are you gonna do. You love hockey more than you do me,”’ said Collins as a laugh comes through in the background. “It’s going to be tough. A lot of tears [are] being shed in this house tonight.”
At least one parent is trying to organize the others into a group to petition the Bangor school board to return Collins to the head coach position.
“The parents are going to have a meeting [this week]” to work on making their pitch, said Chuck Sanderson, whose son, Parker, is one of the top team’s top scorers.
“We’re not going to take this forced resignation,” he said.
“They’ve organized what I feel was a witch hunt,” added Sanderson. “I’m looking out for the kids.”
Collins said that he would not look for another hockey job, but when he learned there was a movement starting to bring him back, he said he would be willing to return to the Rams.
“Bangor is the only job I would take,” he said.
He also said that he has received numerous calls and text messages of support.
“I’m happy to see people are standing behind me,” he said.
What a jerk … I would have just ignored him and told the bus driver to stop. What point did he make doing that.
Take it to the next level…start urinating on the floor. They’ll NEVER tell you “no bathroom breaks” again :)
Good idea can. Encourage teenagers to be even more uncivilized then they are currently.
Say are you free to take on some coaching responsibilities?
Point ??
He was pointed to the door.
I wonder if it hit him on the way out.
The real jerk is Vanedistine. It was his policy to cut expenses by eliminating stops. Coach Collins has been made a scapegoat. Worse is the offending players who urinated on the bus will continue to play unpunished. The A.D. has repeatedly ignored code of conduct violations and the time has come for Bangor to investigate the A.D. for ignoring these violations.Perhaps because this team is favored to win it all this year.
Nicely said!
I have seen a lot of people in Denis’ position before. I would not wish that job on anybody. There is so much scrutiny and ridicule to be a coach anywhere, let alone Bangor, Maine. Bangor is supposed to be this big “Powerhouse”, yet the decisions of both the Athletic Director and the coaches have to first be brought to the Superintendents attention, who has the last say in everything. As I said before, the parents have offered to pay for a coach bus which offers a bathroom, but has repeatedly been denied by the Superintendent of the Year. For a hockey game that is 3 hours away (which is the furthest any team has traveled), against a B hockey team (which we probably shouldn’t have played anyway), a coach bus SHOULD be provided, regardless of any other incident that has happened. There is more to this story, but just think of it this way; I believe there are very few quality coaches in this area to give even 10% of the time that Coach Collins has dedicated to this team.
AMEN
“Bangor is supposed to be this big ‘Powerhouse…'”
there is no one outside of the Bangor area that thinks Bangor is a powerhouse at anything. Especially H.S. hockey.
at best they are a big fish in a small pond.
LOL. I love it when small towns inflate their importance in the world
Someone needs to make sure these kids involved are held accountable also. If this team is as good as everyone says, then they will be just fine without a couple players. They did sign a code of contact, and as a coach, teacher or administrator our job is to teach life lessons, good or bad.
Why because these entitled kids think they can ruin a career because of not being able to use the bathroom? Grow up.
Grow up? Perhaps the players who decided that it was ok to expose the self on a bus I. Front of females should grow up and be held accountable as well? A school bus is not a public restroom.
Okay, I’m editing to change my comment. What is going on here? Did someone resign when he did nothing wrong? What EXACTLY HAPPENED. Innuendoes were caused when the school refused to make a statement and the BDN wrote just enough to start the rumors. Come clean. Let’s get to the bottom of this please.
Well, if you must know, here is the cold hard truth. As with any other sports team for Bangor (and other schools I am sure), the kids typically bring on a jug to pee in, which I do not find offensive at all. I am sure there are mothers out there that find this ridiculous, but the truth is, most men are pigs. I will be the first to admit it. When the bus returned to the rink, the jug was picked up by one of the kids to be dumped outside and unfortunately, the top came off and all the pee went all over the back of the bus. Denis and a couple of the other kids ended up cleaning it up. The way the facts ended up on the Athletic Directors lap are unclear, but it appears that someone in the school (who was not asked to return this year to coach) was told about the incident and ended up going to Steve Vanidestine about it and everyone believes he also went to the BDN. The MAJOR fact of the matter is that if any one of those kids went up to Denis and asked to stop the bus for a break, he would have done it. He literally got thrown under the bus on this one. When I went to High School, I only remember that the AD and principal stood behind all of their coaches. It appears they were headhunting on this one and someone with the Powers Above had the last word.
When you gotta go, you gotta go. Nothing wrong with a jug. A bottle is worth a million bucks if you’re stuck on a packed c-130 . it’s a grown up world out there and voiding the bladder is a very basic biiological function.
There is alot of logic in your post. Too bad that logic was not used here.
Don’t think you had to say “men are pigs”. What is up with that? I’d take that out if I were you. You lose credibility from what otherwise is a good post.
You are right. I changed it to “most”. I thought it might add a little flair
How do ya like our new cry baby world? A coach grabs a football player or claps him up side his helmet and they want him arrested. Hell when I played it was a good practice if that only happened a couple of times.
The facts are the BDN purposely went after this coach understanding fully that they would most likely cost him his job and they did it with 1/2 truths. The school department made an issue out of this where there was no issue. Two players on the team where knuckle heads and made a very very poor decision on the bus trip home without the coaches knowledge. The two players are not being punished and a coaches career is over from a overzealous reporter who tried to make a story where there wasn’t one and a school department more interested in saving face from the overzealous reporter than standing up for the truth.
The reporter nor the school department will ever come clean
on this. They will save face to the end and a coaches will not be able to do what he loves over there actions. So an innocent man gets punished and the BDN and Bangor school administration will go along snubbing and saving face.
I will also make the point I have zero connection with this coach or the administration, I do however stand up when I see injustice being done and this is one of the worst one’s I have seen in a long time.
Again I’m sadden for the coach and his family.
The guy acknowledged that he did, in fact, say they would not be stopping. How can you blame the paper for reporting this fact?
he said that on the way up…. the incident happened on the way home
What was the “incident”? Nowhere has there been a claim in the stories of an incident. And nowhere in the comments has there been any credible claim of an “incident.”
Tell the coach not to do it again and give him his job back. What a world of cry babies.
The school cannot, by law, comment until there is a final outcome in a disciplinary proceeding against an employee or, in this case, a volunteer who gets a stipend.
Denis is a good man! He has done a lot for youth hockey players in the surrounding communities!
Wow you all need to get your facts straight. That isn’t what happened at all. Not one of those boys or girl told him they had to go the bathroom. Coach Collins did as the rest of us parents do and tell the kids that they have to go the bathroom before they leave. To the teenagers who did this act should be accountable for their actions. They are old enough to know better. Denis you got the raw end of the deal and good luck to you. Speaking from experience, PARENTS LET THE COACH, COACH. This political action is a disgrace to youth hockey. I am sad to say my son goes to Bangor High. Paul and Steve you made a huge mistake with this one.
Accountability is not Superintendent of the Year’s strong point. What happened this time I just wonder? Seems there must be more to it than someone peeing without permission.
Anybody who follows the business of the School Committee knows that accountability is not even part of the equation.
and anyone who has worked for the Bangor School Department knows what goes on dealing within the good ole boys network but probably feel constrained by the need to be employed and protect their chosen career or because they know they’ve been complicit in some way. That’s why the corruption needs complete exposure.
is that the suspected reason for his resignation?
Think back to when you were a teen. If an adult in a position of authority told you there would be no stopping and you feared that if you said something you may be ridiculed or not given playing time, would you dare to say anything?
Now think of your peers.
Apparently it didn’t occur to the former coach that he was dealing with kids.
As for the coach’s excuse, it doesn’t hold water. As a sports official myself, I have never penalized a team or reported a game delay because the visiting team was late. This is high school. Buses break down. Principals don’t allow for enough travel time. I understand that. And I’m sure other high school sports officials know understand this, too.
These kids weren’t scarred of him and wonder if they would play. Most of these kids played for Denis for years. They were just being ignorant teenagers. I say ignorant only because they are not sticking up for their coach for what they did. These kids are in High School, they know better.
Obviously someone WAS scared. Why would you expect that kid, and others, to “stick up” for an authority figure who scared them into not speaking up about his inhumane rule? The coach was the ignorant one for not understanding that even if he was joking about not stopping, his words could very well be construed differently. But based on his comments about penalties in the game, it does not appear as though he was joking.
But keep in mind, the coach resigned. He did it to himself. He knew a lot better that if the bus did need to stop all he needed to do was call the home school and explain. I find it hard to believe there was no way to call the home school.
I’ve had schools show up for a game AFTER the game’s scheduled time, without calling. I’ve never penalized or reported the schools to my assigner for arriving late.
I don’t think they were scared. I think the players used the coach’s words as justification for their actions. People who have been around hockey have seen the reaction when a player gets called for an obvious penalty- open mouth, outstretched arms with palms turned up and a look of total disbelief. (“Whaaa? Who, me?”)
Someone thought it would be funny and then it turned into a game. A pee-ing contest, if you will. If anything, the kids who started it should be suspended for hazing. I think the kids knew they were wrong and turned it back on the coach because they are worried this would keep them from getting into a DI school.
Heaven forbid a coach should teach a team there might be a negative consequence to their actions. Would the team be penalized for a pit stop? Likely no, but it was his responsibility to teach the boys that adults need to be on time for their appointments. Using the bathroom before a long trip is common sense. If one had arrived without breakfast, would the coach be in trouble for not stopping at McDonald’s?
What is “it”? If someone did have to go to the bathroom and did so in a bottle on the bus, that’s even more justification to investigate the coach.
No matter how you want to spin this, he said there would be NO stops. That’s entirely on him.
And this stuff about using the bathroom before long trips is nonsense. I can go to the bathroom now before leaving for Portland. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to have to go when I reach Augusta.
So I guess in your perfect world the bus of around 25 people or so leaves Bangor, a kid has to pee in Old Town bus stops, a kid then has to pee in Lincoln bus stops, next a kid has to pee in Medway bus stops etc. This example is as foolish as you thinking people can’t control their bladders, but according to you everybody’s urges will come when they come and the bus must stop, you are being absolutely ridiculous. We are not talking about 5 year old kids, pregnant women, or the elderly, we are talking about healthy teenagers who can sit for hours upon hours playing video games without every leaving their seats.
“It” is urinating in a bottle. Little boys and some men still think the world is their urinal. They seem to think it’s ok to urinate whenever and where ever the need strikes. It’s a cultural thing. Some families allow and even encourage urinating outside and some don’t. I agree wholeheartedly with Realistic Parent.
The players were probably told they could not speak out in favor of him which has happened several times in the last few years. The Athletic Director has told students in the past they were not allowed to stand up for a person who’s position was eliminated, and I am sure he did the same thing this time.
I hope Denis finds a school that will recognize his coaching talents; obviously, Bangor High School has a different agenda.
Pally, when I was in HS no coach in his right mind would’ve made such a remark and the trip would’ve been planned with a pit stop about halfway there. A little common sense goes a long way…
Then the AD should resign! He was the one that made the rule of no stops for the bus. So in my eyes he is the one that has no common sense.
Is this really the most important thing that the administration at Bangor High has to spend it’s time on?
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Bar fights involving high school kids on school trips? Since when?
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“Bar fights.”
Bangorian: “Is this really the most important thing that the administration at Bangor High has to spend it’s time on?” Sorry, I misread and didn’t see Bangor High after the word administration. I always think of administration as the whole ball of wax, as in Bangor School Committee and Superintendent of the Year. I will rescind my previous comment at this time. Thank you for bringing this mistake to my attention Ryan. I thought maybe you were BFF with SOTY.
Its a sad day! He’s done a lot with youth hockey in the surrounding communities!
I can not believe these post. Haven’t any of you, either told your kids, or been told by your parents to go to the bathroom before leaving for a long ride. You people honestly think, that healthy teenagers can’t refrain from using the bathroom for a few hours.
Now a man that has dedicated thousands of hours and thousands of dollars of his own money to help hundreds of kids over the last 15 years is being treated like this. It is absolutely insane. Bangor High School has lost the most dedicated and hardest working hockey coach it has ever seen.
The team, however, will do fine this year no matter who coaches. They are a very talented group of kids.
You also have to realize, parents will call schools OUTRAGED if a teacher didn’t let little Johnny leave English class to use the bathroom (regardless of how many times little Johnny could have used the bathroom before school/lunch/study halls/between classes).
That’s because if you ask them, the parents will tell you that their child is an angel and it must be the other kids that are the bad ones.
Having to go to the bathroom and being denied the right to do so with dignity makes one a bad person?
This talented group of kids is partly responsible for Denis’ railroading. They should unite and refuse to play until they get their coach back.
I would love for them to step up to the plate and do that. I truly believe Denis deserves it, unfortunately I don’t believe it will happen
Spoken like true union workers!
If you mean by union workers, people who stand together to stop injustices,then color me union.
It hockey ?
You’d be “locked out” by management.
Screw the fans and the season, our greed comes first.
Here sight of the purpose is also being lost.
Are these the same people who “stand together” to stop the firing of an incompetent worker in the name of unity?
Yes, protecting incompetent workers is all unions do these days. The world is due to end tomorrow. I am a little disappointed that you have not been able to pin that on unions too. It is still nice to know that we have a few people out here standing up against men and women who actually work for a living getting a living wage. You have to stand for something, or you will fall for anything.
Hey! Leave MikeH22 alone. He is just trying to protect the working men and women of America from that awful scourge known as the American dream. Were it not for labor minded super heroes like MikeH22, people might lose their right to work for $10 an hour for the rest of their lives and pay the mobile home off by the time they are 80.
Only a radical delusional TeaPublican would say such a rotten thing. It is amazing you TeaPublicans will crawl through hurricanes to smooch the stinky toenails of your corrupt billionaire puppet masters who pawn you like unthinking sheep, and then you bash workers who just want a decent living and decent wages. It is just disgusting. Little wonder your freaky little delusional morally bankrupt TeaPublican party just got CRUSHED in the election. Please keep up the corrupt delusional nonsense. Your sad little TeaRadical party won’t be able to get anyone elected dog catcher. Now you can go play with your heroes Pills Limbaugh and Rat-Hair Trump.
I would love to read a non-political story without someone trying to turn it into liberals versus conservatives, tea partiers versus liberals, progressives versus tea partiers, etc.
Lol, Mmmm, koolaid is good!
Outstanding comment, I sent it to my friends Tinserblic…!!!
rant much? your post has nothing at all to do with this story….
Go easy, Tin, you might blow open a vein. Would not look good for the “tolerant’ left to do so!
You just can’t enter conversation without taking a potshot against the Tea Party, can you? The only thing you know about the Tea Party is what you hear on MSNBC. Why is it that anyone with whom you disagree must be a “TeaPublican”? Keep your politics to yourself- the name-calling is getting tiresome.
Do you always talk out of your butt. What does a Union have anything to do with this?
Are you the one who keeps complaining about the union on every darn article that appears in this paper?? Evey time I read some article there is always someone mentioning something about union. If it wasn’t for unions, people would be working for low wages like they do in China.
Really? I am not union nor do I have a college degree and I would not call my wages low. I laugh at you clowns who think unions are gonna save all and everyone. Answer to you question first time I had mentioned unions in any of my post. I just thought it was funny these people on here saying how these kids should unite and demand their coach back.
OK, it’s 1 o’clock. Just because you don’t have to go to the bathroom at 1 o’clock doesn’t mean you won’t have to go at 2:15 or 2:30. If there’s nothing in the holding tank to empty, there’s nothing to empty. That don’t mean the holding tank won’t need to be emptied in an hour, though.
it is a little interesting to see that an ice-hockey coach is brought down not by a losing record but by a pi**ing contest… ;-)
Watch them play video games, and you’ll see them go EXTRAORDINARY lengths of time without the bathroom! Sheesh.
I really hope there is more to this story, because this is nuts. Does the story say how many complaints there were?
First and foremost what does a female player and managerhave to do with any of this? Again this reporter is trying to make this storey more than it is, tabloid trash at its best. What the reporter is not telling you is that the AD told all of the coaches at Bangor not to have any unnecessary stops for the buss’s because money was tight
this year. Collins did not say he would not stop, he said the bus was not planning a stop.
This story was blown way out of proportion from the word go, The BDN should be embarrassed for eporting on a story with 1/2 the facts and forced the hand of this coach. Then to following up with 1/2 the facts and only reporting the bare minimum to save face. The Bangor School department is an embarrassment for letting this story get this far blown out of proportion.
We really have fallen so low in society that we are making front page news out of a coach saying please use the bathroom prior to the trip we will not be stopping?
I’m discussed and no one can tell me that a coach stating we will not be stopping so please use the rest room prior to leaving should be front page news. What players did on the bus without the coaches knowledge he can’t be held accountable for. It saddens me that a coach lost his job over the BDN doing its best to make a story where none existed and the Bangor School department assisting in their effort. This reporter should be embarrassment for railroading a coach with 1/2 facts and truths. The fact that this reporter has stated four times in the last two articles there was females present proves this point. What does females being present when a coach states we will not be stopping so please use the bathroom prior to leaving, have with this story? Other than this reporter trying his hardest into making this into a story that it’s not.
I’m shaken my head at this and sadden for the coach and his family. We are so quick to judge with 1/2 truth’s from reporters who will to sacrifice there integrity as a journalist to try and sell newspapers with a coaches career. Again its front page news that a coach stated to his players we will not be stopping so please use the rest room prior to leaving and yes he said it in front of a female player. I don’t think his resignation is enough I say we need a leaching party at his front door to.
I almost lost my job because of a BDN reporter who reported “calls to ____________(my boss) were not returned”. My boss was furious that he did not receive the messages, blaming office staff for failing to relay the messages, however, the reporter never left any messages……and the burden of proof lay with the office staff. I called the reporter for dates and times of her alleged “messages”. She told me she called our company’s old phone number….which, by the way, was disconnected when we moved 2 months prior!! I asked the reporter why she reported “messages to ________ were not returned” if she NEVER left any messages. She said “it’s symantics”!!!! UGGHHHH
lots of hockey players at Bangor have gotten away with many code of conduct violations not to mention several don’t even have their primary residence in Bangor. The AD just looks the other way time after time. Dennis did not deserve to be the scapegoat for another administrative cover up
I believe the AD looks the other way because he is TOLD to look the other way. He is a puppet to the Queen puppeteer.
You do realize that many towns sent their students to bangor high. Glenburn, eddington clifton etc
i do, but i don’t think Houlton and Lincoln have agreements. It’s kind of a sham when those people rent an apartment or house just to play hockey.
I don’t know who is from Lincoln, but the people you are referring to from Houlton moved here, they pay rent here, they work here, and they fully support this community and the school(or at least they did, that might have changed with this foolishness). I am not sure why this bothers you last I checked this is still a free country and people have the right to live where they choose. Whatever reason they chose to move here is absolutely none of anyone’s business.
I guess if he had a child that had killed someone, he would still have a job
Hope our taxes don’t go up when the law suit comes through!
These future leaders of our great nation were too busy texting to heed the pee before we leave request
I feel for the coach. Parents who either do not parent or do not know how to parent generally blame the coach, the teacher, or anyone else…but they will not look in the mirror. There will be a continued drop in coaching until parents act like parents and control their children.
Ditto. I’m not a parent but I know of many great teachers and coaches who have resigned because of students who are not held accountable and parents who defend them regardless of what they’ve done. It’s never too late to teach personal responsibility – trust me mom and dad, it will pay off in the long run. I have to deal with the fall out.
I could not agree more.
I didn’t follow this story. what the heck occurred that causes this coach to resign? did these students have to take a leak in gatorade bottles or something?
Hope that’s not the case. Had to pee in water bottles quite a few times while on Route Tampa a few years ago. it sucks but ya gotta do what you gotta do.
Except young ladies cannot pee in a bottle. Just one of the injustices of being a teenaged female.
Did anyone ask the coach or driver for a bathroom break? And females can pee in wide mouth gatorade bottles. it happens in the desert. You just have a bunch of players with their backs to her, acting like a wall of privacy.
I didn’t follow this story from the beginning so I am sure that I am missing a few facts. I’m just going on what I’ve read so far.
It has nothing to do with the parents most of the parents are enraged and want something done about it…it was a little incident that got blown out of proportion and it is very sad that it had to come to this Denis Collins was a great coach and was only concerned about helping his players improve. Some people might say that his ego was to big and he only cared about winning he is a coach and its his job to pick the players he thinks will help the team to win. Also he admitted to the team that he there were four players on jv that he easily could have picked them but he wanted them to play together and improve before they were on varsity if that isnt a great coach who is concerned about players then I dont know what is.
It has nothing to do with the parents most of the parents are enraged and want something done about it…it was a little incident that got blown out of proportion and it is very sad that it had to come to this Denis Collins was a great coach and was only concerned about helping his players improve. Some people might say that his ego was to big and he only cared about winning he is a coach and its his job to pick the players he thinks will help the team to win. Also he admitted to the team that he there were four players on jv that he easily could have picked them but he wanted them to play together and improve before they were on varsity if that isnt a great coach who is concerned about players then I dont know what is.
You’d have to be out of your mind to be a school teacher or coach, or anything else that put you at the mercy of school administrators and bureaucrats, unhappy parents of students, or students themselves. Today bathroom stops are a firing offense. What’ll it be tomorrow?
this is crazy-if you pee before you leave you should be able to ride for 3 hours or so without going again–ok,that said, I’m sure these boys were just acting up and going in bottles, boys will be boys…the problem in hockey are the parents end of story,the parents are the worst, I have been around hockey for many years now watching friends/famiy and neighbors kids play the game..the freeze teams in the area are the worst, I have neve in my life ( 53) seen another more out of control, and 1/2 the children picked for those teams are NOT the best of players and it has always since they started in this area been like that–I have no children that have ever played the sport, so I m not a parent complaining! hockey parents are by far the problem from youth hockey to high school hockey!
Yes a lot of hockey parents are the problem, but not all of us. And I am pretty sure this goes with every sport. Most parents that get involved are in it for THEIR kid not THE kids, if you wanna know the truth!
It’s more than one incident. And some of these players have gotten away with alot. Denis did the right thing here by stepping down. It’s time that the mpa step in and look at bhs athletics in general. Perhaps the ad himself be looked at. I’m sure alot of schools have issues but year after year Bangor high school continues to make headlines for their conduct. Last year underage drinking party where players had to miss a few games yet their conduct policy is zero tolerance. An instance where Denis admitted seeing players he thought were doing illegal activity yet still allowed them on the team. Yes coaching his about winning but equally important is teaching them to be good role models aswell. Denis got the winning down.
I am sorry, I don’t want to get into an argument with you but I really think you have your facts wrong about this incident you keep bringing up. I don’t believe you have any idea who the kids were that were seen doing suspicious activity, and I know for a fact Denis definitely did not mention kids names. Furthermore if you are who I think you are I don’t believe you was even at the parent meeting you keep referring to. I believe you are strictly going on hear say from your wife or ex-wife which ever it is. I am sorry your son didn’t make varsity. I use to watch him in jv and I thought he was a hard working player, he was fun to watch. I don’t know why him and a few others that were also fun to watch never got their shot. I still respect Denis’ decisions on player choices, didn’t always agree with them but did respect them. You keep bringing up code of conduct policy, I remember when I first signed my kids up for hockey. I remember signing a parent code of conduct and having to sign it year after year, I am sure you had to sign it too, you might want to take a look at it.
The very first time I met Denis was at parent meeting. He had no clue who I was. We talked abit outside prior to the meeting. This was his first year coaching jv. He told me point blank that all of his Maine freeze hockey players who tried out would make the team reguardless. Ever since then I knew he was a pos in my mind. Then last year when he left me the voice mail. My son did not make the team because he did not work hard in the offseason. That’s I’d as simple as it gets.
I know your son and your son actually dis play last year and you never showed up to any of his games so please be honest and please stop bashing on Denis because you have a supposed “vendetta” against him. Just leave the poor man alone you havent liked any of your sons coaches because you think they dont play him or coddle him enough just leave him alone and mind your own business. Im sorry if you take offense to this but its not fair for you to bash him and get away with it.
Really he played last season? Yes he played midgits. When was on the team I made most every game when was in the southern part of the state. You have zero clue because I have liked many of my sons coaches And frankly hardly ever bothered to persuade any coach that he needed more playing time or anything. What I don’t like is coaches showing favoritism because a child’s last name and or who they might be connected to. My son made the choice to not bother trying out for this team simply put he didn’t put in the effort. He didn’t like Denis and Denis didn’t like him. Denis is a quitter!! You go ahead and support a quitter ill continue to state circumstances that I can speak clearly on. Perhaps you have a personal need to keep Denis around?
Yes your son played jv and midgets last year and i didnt see you at a single game oh wait maybe one but still you dont like denis and i know your son doesnt either thats fine but that does not give you the right to go after Denis this way he cares about his players and thats that. The first thing you said when this all came out was that he should just leave and not that he has you arent happy and calling him a quitter? Make up your mind please and thank you.
Well for what it is worth I did believe that your son and a few others that never made varsity should have, unfortunately it never happened. I know it is hard to take, but it is still no reason to destroy a man who has devoted so much of his time and his own money to helping hundreds of kids from ages 3 & 4 years old all the way up through high school. Has Denis made mistakes along the way yes, who hasn’t. I just know that there have been an awful lot of kids lives that have been improved in some small way due to Denis, again unfortunately there is no way that you can make everyone happy.
Its obvious you have an axe to grind with the coach. Why is it so important to keep bringing up incidents from years past. It may help you to know that athletes are disciplined by the principal, not the coaches with regard to conduct violations. So if the suspensions from last year arent good enough for you, take it up with the A.D. or the principal.As far as making headlines,look at the rag that publishes these types of overblown stories.
No axe to grind. The past incidents are a reflection of his leadership or lack there of. Denis quit on his team before the investigation was complete. Maybe you supporters should see if Tim whitehead needs an assistant.
Stupid to schedule this game 3 hours away on a school night. It should have been scheduled on a Saturday.
Why, teens don’t pee on Saturdays??
I find it interesting that the coach was willing to speak with the BDN and tell them what happened, yet the administrators who are behind this witch hunt would not comment. When this happens you can almost guarantee that the person who speaks up has nothing to hide and is telling the truth. I cannot believe this has gotten so far out of hand. For the coach to be forced to resign is ridiculous. I hope everyone realizes that this coach probably didn’t come to this conclusion on his own, I am quite sure that an administrator probably told him to resign or he would be fired. I hope he is reinstated and that the school district learns a lesson. Now if the coach had been behind some serious hazing incident or something similar, he should face the music but this is just crazy. When did our country become such an over-reactive place?
The law prohibits the school officials from commenting, that’s why. Additionally, the guy resigned, so why should they have to talk? He admitted that he in fact said there would be no stops.
I believe he also told them to go before they left, 3 hours is Not too long for a teenager to hold his or her bladder, they should have emptied it before boarding the bus, as instructed.
A huge mistake on this one, as well as taking basketball coach Roger Reed out of the mix at Bangor High–
I know none of the players. I know none of the administration, I know none of the coaching staff, but from the back row this sure looks like a blanket party.
With the chance of getting someone far worse than the current coach they forced him out for this low level concern. Even if one of the students had been embarrassed by the lack of bathroom stops that alone would not be a reason to halt a man’s career. Maybe a disciplinary hearing, but even that might be a bit much.
I suggest that maybe coaching and diplomacy are incomparable. maybe the schools should hire some touchy-feely type to deal with everyone’s feelings, and let the coach go about the task of building a winning team.
There is already too much touchy-feely as it is. Put the information out so everyone knows what happened. That will cure all this bs
Look no future then betsy webb
So if the parents want Denis back. Then why not teach the players to step up and take responsibility for their actions on the bus? Instead of parents encouraging players to unite and threaten to not play encourage them to take ownership of this incident?
The kids have taken responsibility for their actions. They have admitted to peeing in a bottle. In fact, the bus that takes the football players has also had a pee bottle in it. I don’t understand why the investigation has not brought that up and why the football coach has not been forced to resign. The issue the officials are talking about here is that the coach was quoted as saying “there would be no stops, so you better go before the bus leaves” and he was “forced” to resign his position. In this crazy, sue-happy, media blitzed world we live in now, this story is one that should never have made the papers and this comment page. People post comments on a story when they have not heard all the facts and they judge a man that has given nothing but his life to coach a sport he loves. This is a coach who has given his life to coaching, whether it be soccer or hockey. He may be a little eccentric, but we all have our eccentricities and flaws. I have nothing but respect for a man who has dedicated more than 100% to this team and for him to leave is just wrong. The parents and the kids are stepping up to have a voice. I just hope someone listens to them.
and your facts come from?
Agreed. This will be the last time I post on here. For the people that brought down this coach, one thing, if you ever thank a Veteran or shake their hand, think twice. They might have peed in a bottle somewhere along the way and since that’s really really gross, you might not want to honor them. And believe it or not, it happens in areas where there is no danger of actual combat or loss of life. I’ve seen people with more street smarts and more college than anyone on this board pee in bottles when it was needed. Get over yourselves and thank you for wrecking another career. Now get coaching. Oh, that’s right. It’s just easier to complain.
None of the players have said they wont play so again get your facts straight the principal questioned all the kids on the bus and they told him their side of the story and obviously the parents had nothing to do with getting him to resign if they want him back again post facts not half truthes!
Betsy Webb! the name that BDN keeps taking off the comment section wanted this done
I still don’t understand the aversion to the rest area. A 10 minute pit stop would have been better than passing a jug around; geez.
would someone please tell what supposedly happened? it seems a lot of people know what some kid or kids did, but i can’t find it in today’s or yesterday’s comments (peeing in bottles? throwing it out windows? what?)
If no one mention’s anything, how could something have happen ? Row with the flow unless someone speaks up. Must be something else going on, here. The public needs some prime investigating journalism, for the truth.
Unreal!,,,,,do not believe what this conversation is regarding,……we all need to wake up ……
The problem with this issue is we are only seeing one side now and speculation of the other side. If we want to know what happened then both sides need to be up front about this. Sometimes this privacy business goes too far. If it is about a potty break then all the comments here are out in left field. We do have some control over our body functions but sometimes we don’t and that is what needs to be taken into account here. Also if the schedule changed then why wasn’t the bus time schedule changed to accommodate the new time. This in it self should have been done on the side of safety. So until all the laundry is hung out here we can spin our wheels trying to figure out what happened and what tho do to fix it.
Ever travel with a friend who easily drives 300 miles without stopping? You don’t get in his car a second time without being prepared. One of life’s little lessons is learning how to pace yourself when traveling, and the sooner you learn this the easier your life will be.
You might want to remember this bus incident the next time someone tells you that sports don’t prepare one for life in the real world.
The humble Farmer
Thanks kids. YOU screwed your coach, now live with it
just totally ridiculious!!! denis is a great hockey coach.being forced to resign probably because 1 or 2 kids who think they are close to gods level told their parents we don’t like him we want him out.unfortunately it makes a lot of difference what name is on back of your jersey in bangor
Some parent raised a kid who knows how to use the system. Get a life. I am sure he would have stopped if needed. If you didnt ask to stop it is your fault. This coach did not deserve this and neither does this team.
I have more questions then answers after reading this. 1. Why and when was the game time changed from 5pm to 4:45pm. 2. Was there time to change the departure time? 3. Who complained about no bathroom break? 4. Who asked for his resignation? 5. These kids aren’t babies. Is he lying when he says no one asked if they could stop? 6. Is he the kind of coach you wouldn’t dare ask to stop?
Betsy Webb.. What is your opinion on this matter. Or did you send Butler to do your dirty work so you hands wouldn’t reek of dodo. last time I put this comment on it lasted a whole 12 minutes
I don’t get any of this–did someone complain? Did someone ask for his resignation? This story raises a lot of questions.
I read through this article twice and still didn’t find out if one of the kids had soiled himself during this trip. If, as is posted below by ‘hockey’, nobody said “I really have to go”, how in the world would the coach have known somebody had to go? How does anyone know someone else needs to hit the bathroom if they’re not told? This coach was forced to resign because a kid didn’t tell him “I’ve gotta pee”? I can see the logic in that about as much as I can see the logic in surrounding my home in central Maine with a moat to keep the alligators away.
First they railroad Roger Reed and now Collins. Great job Bangor, you folks really know what your doing over there??? Is this a mandate from someone that didnt like Mr. Collins? I have a real hard time buying that this is all because he didnt want to be late for a hockey game and told the kids they needed to make some time. I would love to know how far UP the ladder this goes.
When I played basketball and baseball for BHS many years ago we always went to Caribou and Presque Isle on a coach bus with a bathroom. The math team got to take a coach bus with a bathroom to Newport last year. Why was the hockey team relegated to a yellow school bus for the three hour trip to the county?
In this context, County should be capitalized. Aroostook Pride!! See my earlier comment on the original story about our taking a “break” in the breakdown lane late at night traveling home, back in the heyday of CHS basketball trips.
My favorite part of (this account of) this semicoherent, generally puzzling incident: “Collins said he resigned to prevent any disruption to the team.” If the coach resigning doesn’t constitute a disruption to a sports team, one wonders why teams even have them.
Talk about the “bums rush”. To whoever is responsible for allowing it to get to this point, nice move. And to the Guidance Counselor that told my son he should drop out of BHS, kudos. No worries. I moved. Not one of my kids will ever grace the hallowed halls of BHS again.
so far as i can tell, for years coach collins has been a fine coach, a good person with the kids, and a good representative of the community of Bangor. Have you ever tried riding herd on a bus full of teenagers (95% boys!)?
if this were all just about peeing, it would be laughable: my daughter tells me the cross country team boys peed in bottles (then threw it out the window), and I know coach goode did a fine job overall: the kids are well-adjusted, easy going, tolerant, helpful of each other…
this whole thing must be about high school politics, dontcha think?
It seems odd that the game was moved up considering the opponent was 3 hours away. Why not either leave at 12:45pm (so there can be a stop) or keep the 5pm time. And as someone with a small bladder, I know I wouldn’t have been comfortable with a 3 hour bus ride.