When the boys’ varsity basketball team beat Falmouth 44-42 on Friday night to clinch the Cape and Islands League title, Head Coach Mike Joyce moved to within three wins of his 300th career victory. Known for his friendly personality and dedication to sports and his players, Mr. Joyce is a walking time capsule — he carries the memories of what MVRHS used to be, while shaping future generations.
With the team’s impressive record this season and following the close win of the league championship, Mr. Joyce recalled the difficulty of last Friday’s game and the team’s strong performance.
“It was a hard game [against Falmouth]. Both teams played really good defense. It was one of the lowest-scoring games we’ve had, certainly in this year, and probably in a few years,” he said. “I thought the kids showed a lot of resilience, a lot of fortitude in hanging in there and getting it done at the end.”
While Mr. Joyce has been coaching the boys’ basketball team for 23 years, and coached the junior varsity girls before that, he’s had a love for basketball his entire life. “It started when I was 7, playing down at the courts in Oak Bluffs, all the way up through high school, playing in men’s leagues across the state, and eventually coming back here and coaching basketball at MVRHS. Basketball has been a pretty constant theme in my life,” he said.
Mr. Joyce is also the girls’ varsity golf coach, and finds the two sports to be very different. “Basketball is a much more active coaching process during the game. You’re constantly adjusting to what the other team’s doing, and trying to see what things are working, and what things aren’t,” he said. “Golf is all about preparation, because in golf you can’t actively coach them on the course, so I can’t recommend anything. I have to get them ready to make those decisions on their own.”
Mr. Joyce feels that his own mentors have strongly shaped who he is today. “All along the way, coaches have given me ways of dealing with adversity, working with people, being on a team, and pushing myself individually. All these things I try to really instill in my players — things that have also helped me throughout my life,” he said.
Additionally, he’s grateful to have experienced firsthand how deeply the community cares about its student athletes.
“As an athlete it was great. The support on this Island for sports is tremendous, just around town — once [people] know that you’re an athlete and what sport you play, they’ll check in with you on how it’s going, how the season’s going, and that’s always been the case here,” he said. “Ever since I was a little kid, the Island has always supported student athletes. Being part of it now is giving some of that back to what I got from athletics at the high school and passing that forward to the kids.”