Edward Little High School has hired a new girls basketball coach with extensive experience coaching the sport in the Auburn-Lewiston area.
New Edward Little girls basketball coach Frank Perry. Submitted photo
Frank Perry was announced Tuesday as the replacement for Kristina Blais, who stepped down after leading the Red Eddies for two seasons.
In a news release sent to the Sun Journal, Edward Little Athletic Director Todd Sampson said that Perry was picked to lead the program “after an extensive search process.”
“We are excited for Frank Perry to lead the Red Eddies to a successful era of girls basketball in Auburn,” Sampson said in the release.
Perry is familiar with the program on a few different levels. His daughter, Jade Perry, was one of the standouts on the Red Eddies’ 2018 Class AA state championship team. She also played a key role as a freshman in helping Edward Little win the 2016 AA North regional title and reach the state final.
Frank Perry has more than 20 years of youth sports coaching experience, particularly girls basketball. He founded Maine Basketball Club, an AAU basketball organization that began with one team and, with the help of Blais, grew to 18 teams with more than 200 players.
“We are pleased to have Coach Perry join the Red Eddie coaching staff,” Sampson said. “He brings an extensive background and resume, as well as an outstanding knowledge of the individual skill set needed to be successful at the ‘AA’ level.
“He is a well-established personal trainer, who possesses a true understanding of the game of basketball. He is an exceptional coach whose coaching style and philosophies will be a great fit for the program while committing to develop the program’s youth level through high school.”
Blais is a 2016 Lewiston High School graduate who played on Central Maine Community College’s first national championship team in 2017, then played at the University of Southern Maine.
She began training basketball players and eventually took over ownership of Maine Basketball Club from Frank Perry. Two years ago, at the age of 23, she was hired to coach the Red Eddies.
She sold her training business to Teer Training earlier this year, and soon after the season stepped down as Edward Little’s coach and is moving out of state.
“Stepping away from EL and the gym has not been easy, but necessary for my next calling in life,” Blais wrote earlier this month on social media.
Blais added: “I loved more than the basketball side and having the same kids every single day. I loved helping them navigate through a vulnerable time in their lives, and showing up for them with school/at school. I loved teaching them life, giving them the leg up on things I wish I’d knew, and being their biggest supporters.”
Sampson lauded the work Blais did during her short stint as the Red Eddies’ head coach.
“She was only here two years, but, boy, she, she really kind of re-energized our whole program,” Sampson told the Sun Journal last month. “Not that it necessarily showed in the wins and losses, but, boy, our kids played hard. Any night you came into our gym, there was going to be a lot of energy.
“I loved it because she was a tremendous role model for our young ladies.”
Now Perry takes over for Blais.
“Frank is ready to dig in and begin preparing the Red Eddies for an intense summer basketball experience,” Sampson said in the news release.
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