For Tom

The first day of basketball practice was one that the Bangor girls basketball team had been preparing - or bracing for - since early August of this year.

In early August, longtime assistant coach, Tom O’Heron, passed away.

Though players and coaches offered condolences to the family, spent time reflecting and remembering what O’Heron had done for the BHS community, there was still one big emotional hurdle to overcome - stepping into the gym for the first time in eight seasons without the warm presence of a figure who had become a fixture for the girls basketball program.

“Today’s a tough day,” said current head coach Merlin Jones on the first day of practice Nov. 10.

“Walking back in the gym without having him here, sitting here waiting for all of us - the gratitude, the appreciate that he had for the game and the love he had for the kids - is extremely hard to overcome.”

O ’ H e r o n came on board as an assistant coach with the girls basketball team in the 2017- 18 season. That year Bangor’s girls captured the Division 5 state title after defeating Black Hawk 39-29, winning the program’s second-ever state championship.

Two years later, O’Heron was treated to another state run, though no one would get to see how Bangor would fare as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused the premature ending to the state meet before the Cardinals could take the court.

In 2021, Bangor started its season late due to area restrictions associated with the pandemic, but even so, O’Heron remained on staff and helped carve out another state appearance.

Year after year, O’Heron kept coming back. Year after year, Bangor kept winning - eight conference titles in the eight years O’Heron helped.

Yet, it wasn’t just the winning that was important to the assistant coach. Being part of the team was enough.

“He always sat in the chair just saying hi to us girls or would give us candy,” said senior Abby Langrehr.

“We all want to play for Tom. I think he was such a big part of this team that we all want to keep going for him and just show that he impacted us in so many different ways.”

Senior Kennedy Hamilton said, “Every time you’d ask for a little piece of candy, he’d whip it right out. He was just known for giving us candy because he loved us.”