BIDDEFORD — He wasn’t in the gym, but the presence of Ron Cote wasn’t gone from the Steve White Gym at Biddeford High School when the girls basketball team practiced last week, gearing up for another season.

And new coach Brian Heal has no problem with that whatsoever.

Heal, a Biddeford graduate who played for Cote on the boys basketball team in the early 1990s, steps in for Cote, who stepped down from the position immediately following last season after six years at the helm. Heal’s recent stint before Biddeford was as an assistant coach under Troy Dunphe at Westbrook. Before that, Heal was the boy’s junior varsity coach at Biddeford, and an assistant under head coach Mike Fecteau.

But now Heal steps in for his old coach, and the shoes he fills are big ones. Cote took the Tigers to the playoffs in all of his six seasons, and last year’s team finished 15-5 in the regular season before losing in the Western Class A quarterfinals.

Heal said on occasion the thought crosses his mind about what he’s getting himself into.

“When you stop and think about it, and I try not to, you can’t help it,” Heal said. “He’s been a coach here for 40 years, he’s coached multiple sports and been highly successful with all of them. He played here at St. Louis. He’s a legend in this town and in the high school sports scene in general. It’s a tough act to follow, but all I can do is be who I am and hopefully the girls respond to that, and that’s enough.”

The good news for the returning players on the Tigers is, Heal won’t change much of Cote’s philosophy. Defensively, everything will remain the same, as the Tigers will continue to play press defense. The bigger changes will come offensively, but Biddeford will still look to push the ball down the court to put pressure on opposing defenses.

“A lot of the stuff we do is based on what he’s done,” Heal said. “I’ve picked some stuff up, because I’ve worked for other coaches, so I have a couple of other influences in there, but that’s where I pull from is Coach Cote’s stuff, and also from some other sources.”

Biddeford returns only two starters from last season. Keila Grigware was the top scorer in the SMAA last year, averaging 19.8 points per contest, and will look to do more of the same in 2010. Capable of doing a little bit of everything offensively, Grigware does most of her scoring down in the post. Also returning is Amethyst Hersom, who has the versatility to play both forward and guard. Both will serve as the Tigers captains this season.

“I think he’s learning just as much as we are,” Hersom said. “We don’t know any of the plays he’s putting in, and we’re so used to Cote’s way of coaching. He’s played for him and knows the intensity that Coach Cote expected out of us, and he expects the same. So I think he’s been doing well and wants the best out of us.”

Biddeford has a lot of youth on the team, and how they develop will be key to the Tigers season.

“They’ve been taking everything in right now,” Grigware said. “We only have three seniors, but we try to keep them motivated and encourage them as much as possible, help them out.”

The competition won’t be any easier for Biddeford this year. Thornton Academy, which finished last season at 11-8 with a trip to the playoffs, looks to be even better this year, and Sanford could pose as the biggest threat in York County, with four returning starters, including Taylor Flood and Lindsay Nolette.

Grigware said she doesn’t feel any added pressure to raise her game because of the youth on the squad.

“I don’t think I have to overcompensate for the [youth] of our team,” Grigware said. “I think it’s more pressure on the seniors to know the plays, help the younger girls on the court, so everyone knows where they’re supposed to be.”

Intensity, defense, and tempo. The face may be changing on the bench at Biddeford, but it appears the game is remaining the same.

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318.