Former Players Salute Coach MacKinnon

Against a backdrop of trophies and awards, the Sanford Schools Legacy Foundation on Sept. 4 dedicated the Sanford High School Athletic Awards Showcase in honor of longtime basketball coach, teacher and principal Bruce MacKinnon.

“It’s an exciting day for us on behalf of the Sanford School Board, the Sanford Schools Legacy Foundation, the City of Sanford and community,” Superintendent Matt Nelson said during the afternoon ceremony. Some of MacKinnon’s former players shared fond memories of MacKinnon.

“Things Bruce did built respect. When Bruce was coaching us, he commanded the room,” said John Roux, once a standout forward for Coach MacKinnon and later an insurance colleague. “He owned the room, and if you weren’t part of what he was preaching, you were out of the room very quickly. He was intense. It was tough, but it was good, and I really, really respect that.”

John Dube recalled MacKinnon’s intense style of coaching, but also the numerous things he did behind the scenes, such as sending him to basketball camps that would have otherwise not been an option for him. “He made me who I am today. He was my second dad,” said Dube, a standout forward for Sanford from 1976 to 1980.

The life skills MacKinnon taught his boys stayed with them into adulthood, former player Mark Caron explained. “It took me years to realize all the lessons you were teaching us,” he said. “Accountability, discipline and responsibility. So besides all of the other great (basketball) things he taught us, really those three things instilled a lot in my life.”

MacKinnon came to Sanford in 1973 to teach U.S. history. He served as the boys’ varsity basketball coach from 1973 to 1985, then as Sanford High School principal from 1985 to 1993. He also coached golf from 1978 to 1984, then retired from education in 1993 to serve as a state senator for four years. Coach MacKinnon was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

Sanford Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, who served on the Sanford School Committee when MacKinnon retired, was on hand to offer a congressional commendation on behalf of the Maine House of Representatives and Senate.