The resignation of Orono High School girls basketball coach Jessica Witham on Wednesday apparently occurred after she encountered problems with some parents of her players.
Sources close to the program, who asked not to be named, said there were conflicts between Witham, an Orono High School Sports Hall of Famer, and parents over playing time and her coaching style.
Witham, who coached Orono to 128 wins in nine seasons and led the team to three Eastern Maine Class C basketball championship game appearances in the last five years, would not discuss the reasons for her resignation.
She submitted her resignation to RSU 26 Superintendent Joanne C. Harriman on Wednesday morning.
On her Facebook page, Witham wrote, “I had to make a difficult decision but I know I made the right decision given the circumstances.”
Harriman was asked for a copy of the resignation letter and sent an edited version to the BDN in which all of Witham’s reasons for her resignation had been deleted. That was done in accordance with Maine law, “which exempts from disclosure certain confidential employee information of school department employees,” according to Harriman.
The only paragraphs that remained in the letter were the first and final paragraphs. “I am resigning from my position as girls varsity basketball at Orono effective immediately,” Witham wrote.
The final paragraphs stated, “I am a proud alumnus of Orono High School. I thank you for the opportunity to serve the program as girls varsity basketball coach for the past nine years. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with wonderful young ladies, parents and staff. I wish the program nothing but the best.”
Athletic director Mike Archer also would not comment on Witham’s resignation other than to say he learned of it Wednesday morning and will begin the search for a coach in the near future.
On her Facebook page, Witham expressed some of her feelings toward her players.
“It is my hope that not only did I teach my players about the game of basketball, but that I also taught them a little about the game of life and how to be the best student, player, teammate and person they can possibly be,” she wrote.
Witham’s last eight Orono teams qualified for postseason play and six of them made it at least as far as the quarterfinals.
Her sixth-seeded Red Riots were 13-5 during the regular season last winter to earn the sixth seed but were upset by No. 11 Washington Academy of East Machias 43-37 in their preliminary game.
Orono had reached the Eastern Maine title game in the two previous seasons but lost to Calais each year.
Witham’s resignation came as a surprise to rival coaches.
“I’m very surprised,” said Central of Corinth coach Diane Rollins. “She did a great job with that program. She also put in a lot of work with them during the summer.”
“She put a lot of time and effort into the program,” said Houlton coach Shawn Graham. “She did a very good job and was very successful.
“Orono was always a top contender,” added Graham.
Witham and husband Ryan, one of her assistant coaches, have two daughters: Katelyn, who turns 3 next month, and 2-month-old Raegan. Ryan’s daughter Emily was a freshman on the Red Riot basketball team this past season.
The former Jessica Libby was elected to the Orono High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 after being a three-sport standout. She helped lead Orono to state Class B championships in 1996 and 1998 and was a finalist for the state’s Miss Basketball Award.
She went on to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham where she played four years of basketball and two years of softball. She played in the 2000 NCAA Division III basketball championship game and was an All-Little East first-team choice as a senior.
Witham ranked in the top 25 in six different basketball statistical categories at USM when she graduated in 2003 with a degree in sociology.
Witham spent two years as an assistant at USM under Gary Fifield before returning to Orono where she became the physical education teacher at the middle school.
Witham stepped down as a teacher to become a full-time mom after the birth of her first daughter.
She was the JV basketball coach at Orono for one year and was also an assistant soccer coach before succeeding Tim Baude as the varsity basketball coach.
The new coach will inherit an Orono team that will graduate just three seniors and will return several seasoned veterans.