WEST CANAAN — Rocking Air Jordans, a Dri-Fit collared shirt and purple silk shorts, Silas Ayres looked comfortable inside Mascoma High’s Edward P. Kehoe Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
He should be.
The first-year coach of the Royals boys basketball team coached the junior varsity program the last four seasons. He is also a 2001 graduate who led Mascoma to the NHIAA Class M semifinals and was a 1,000-point scorer.
To say he bleeds purple would be an understatement, Ayres said.
“I love Mascoma. I love Mascoma basketball,” he said between drills. “This is where I want to be. I have a passion for the community. I know most of these kids.”
With his messy brown hair, the 37-year-old Ayres is a confident force on the court.
He started Wednesday’s practice with a quick chat at center court about accountability in and out of the gym. He played college ball for two years at St. Joseph’s of Maine; Ayres is well-versed in what it takes to play at the next level after being successful in high school.
Immediately after his speech, the Royals ran the three-man weave with a twist. Ayres didn’t want a layup to finish off the drill, just crisp passes.
He wants his team to run a lot this season, in every phase of play. The Royals are going to get in opponents’ faces with a full-court press. They’re going to force turnovers and get quick baskets — defense will lead to offense.
“I’m a little more freewheeling. You know, I want to let the kids play some ball,” Ayres said. “Don’t get me wrong. We got structure and we’ve got sets, but it allows guys to get up there (the floor).
“I want to run because we have the guys to do it. And I want to encourage them, if they’re open, to catch it in rhythm and take the open shot.”
Ayres isn’t inheriting a program with many problems to fix, however. Jim Barry stepped down last winter and compiled a 128-90 record over 10 years. The Royals finished 10-11 a season ago and closed out the schedule with back-to-back losses to Campbell, the latter a 60-38 defeat in the first round of the NHIAA Division III tournament.
Ben Seiler returns after averaging 13.6 points per game as a freshman. After setting the school record for goals in soccer in the fall, he’s focused on hoop for the winter. Ayres has worked with Seiler since he was in grade school when Ayres helped out with Mascoma Youth Sports League.
“I heard about him when I was younger. I came to a lot of games growing up. I didn’t think I ever saw him play, but I always heard about him from my dad,” Seiler said. “He’s ready to get his hands on this group of guys and really take us to where we should be. I don’t think we had the same kind of intensity last year as we do now in practice. He’s talked about this since I was in fifth grade. In a lot of our minds, we can go to a Final Four.”
Along with Seiler, Connor Thompson is back to his old self after a high-ankle sprain sidelined him for six games last winter. Ayres said that despite playing in the final five games of the season, Thompson wasn’t himself.
Ayres has also recruited a few AAU players at Mascoma play for the school team, too. His top assistant, Connor Torrey, is a former Royal who was the D-III player of the year in 2011. He went on to play at Plymouth State.
While he hasn’t coached a full varsity season yet, Ayres was selected the state’s junior varsity coach of the year in D-III after last season.
He knows what it takes to win at Mascoma. He saw it growing up as a kid when the Royals won D-III state crowns in 1987 and 1989. Now, he’s hoping he can be the one to find the right mix again.
“We set small goals every day to get better every single day,” Ayres said. “And I think if we do that, just keep working, I think it’s within our reach to make a run deep into the playoffs.”
Pete Nakos can be reached at 603-727-3306 or pnakos@vnews.com.