Lynne and Abby Hasson. photo/courtesy Abby Hasson
Lynne Hasson, the South Portland High School girls varsity basketball coach, is equally aware of the future she is shaping and the tradition she is upholding. Her daughter, Abby Hasson, the Portland High girls varsity basketball coach, has another school’s tradition to uphold, but also accepts responsibility for shaping the sport’s future. As the first mother-daughter pair to coach against each other in Maine, they’re setting a new standard by which a coach’s legacy is measured.
Lynne well knows the Red Riot tradition. Her great aunt was one of the first female basketball players at the high school. Lynne was the tournament MVP during her time as a player, and all four of her kids played sports at SPHS. When she took over the team a decade ago, she invited the coaches and players from the 1977 and 1986 State Championship teams to return to the gym, hoping their success would rub off. And yet, she didn’t balk when Abby, then her assistant coach, had the opportunity to apply for the job at their rival school across the bridge.
“My mom was like, ‘Why would you not go for that?’” Abby recalled. “Even if you don’t get it, it’s experience interviewing, experience going through the process, so you’re ready for the next one.”
Amy Vachon, head coach of the University of Maine’s women’s basketball team, has been raising awareness of the gender gap among scholastic basketball coaches. She noted in 2020 that of the 133 girls’ basketball programs in Maine, only 28 had a woman as head coach. Lynne was among the coaches who answered Vachon’s call to build a supportive network for female coaches in Maine.
“Often, female coaches don’t feel like they’re ready, whereas a male counterpart just jumps in,” Lynne said. “And so we said, ‘What can we do?’ We had coaches that were mentoring [who] helped with interviewing skills [and] with résumés.”
Abby said Katie Stannard, head coach of Southern Maine Community College’s women’s basketball team, and Adrienne Shibles, Associate Director of Athletics at Bates College, were also among those pushing her to pursue the Portland High job. They reframed the opportunity in a way that inspired her to take her shot.
As Abby enters her fourth year as the PHS head coach, she recognizes the complexity of having her mom as both a rival and a mentor. “At the end of the day, she’s my mom and I’m her kid, and it’s all love,” Abby said. “But we are heavy, heavy competitors. There’s no backing down, no pulling punches.”
“I learned almost everything I know about coaching and building relationships with kids from her,” Abby continued. “Being on her staff [allowed us to offer] constructive criticism to each other. … We’re always talking shop.”
Both coaches face similar challenges. They note that participation in high school sports is down statewide, especially for girls. Some students have family responsibilities or jobs that conflict with sports obligations. Others participate in a single sport year-round in private leagues, and some simply don’t want to be part of a team if they aren’t starters. Yet Abby, like her mom, is inspired, rather than discouraged, by the challenge.
“I love being a female coaching young women, giving them a same-gender role model that they can look up to,” Abby said. “Boys can be more locked-in during a game. With girls, there’s a lot more to it. You have to get them to buy in, and build trust, and then build a feeling of competitiveness. Not for all girls, but for most.”
They also both aspire to advance the careers of their colleagues while they lead their teams, supporting and promoting not just female athletes, but female coaches, Lynne said. “If, at the end of the day, I have done that for the players I have coached, and the female coaches I have coached with, I’ll call that a win,” said Lynne.
And speaking wins, Abby is currently up 3-2 in the inter-Hasson series; PHS hosts SPHS on Dec. 23 at 1 p.m.
Shoot Tom Major an e-mail at leagueofbollards@gmail.com.
