Seth Provencher returns to Winnacunnet basketball community that 'loved me' in hard times

HAMPTON — Seth Provencher, due to a myriad of family circumstances, didn’t have a consistent place to call home growing up.

However, with the help of coaches, teachers and friends, he always felt right at home at Winnacunnet High School.

Now, seven years after he last wore a Warriors' basketball uniform, Provencher has returned to a place he could always call home — this time as an assistant coach with the Winnacunnet boys basketball team.

“I was one of those kids who was blessed,” Provencher said. “I had coaches here that loved me, I had teachers here that loved me, and I had friends here that loved me. I stayed with my community. I've always wanted to come back here (to Winnacunnet). I'm glad that right now it's happening.”

How Provencher's return transpired

Winnacunnet longtime assistant James Connolly stepped down in the offseason to spend more time with his family, leaving a vacancy in the program. It didn’t take long for head coach Jay McKenna to reach out to Provencher to gauge his interest in joining the Warriors as an assistant coach.

Provencher, a 2017 graduate of Winnacunnet, played four years with the Warriors, and then two years at Southern Maine Community College.

“When Coach Connolly decided he needed to make a change, (Provencher) was one of the guys I immediately thought of,” McKenna said after Monday's practice. “We had some conversations in the past and I knew he wanted to get involved with the program. I knew he would be great. He was always a great teammate, he knows the game, he has great experience, especially playing up at Southern Maine. Then to see him in the gym and how quickly he relates to the kids, I knew it was just a natural fit.”

At first, McKenna asked Provencher to be the head coach of the freshman team. However, Provencher’s new job as a rigger at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard wouldn’t allow him to be at school in time for team practices and games.

Then, knowing the varsity practice/game schedule would be more favorable for Provencher’s work schedule, McKenna asked his former player to serve as his varsity assistant.

“I immediately said yes,” Provencher said. “I couldn’t be happier. I am trying to figure out my life, and when Coach called me it was perfect timing. I am at the up-rise of my life, and I'm living my best years right now. I feel like there’s no better time to hop in and be a part of the Warriors program again than right now.”

McKenna saw the opportunity to work with Provencher, someone who he coached and watched "really grow up in our program" and was excited to bring him on board.

“He brings great energy to the program, and I am looking forward to a great season working with him,” McKenna said. “He has a great basketball mind, and obviously, he’s a lot younger than I am. So, it's great to have someone on staff who can relate to the kids. I feel like I've always done a pretty good job of being able to kind of bridge the gap in the age difference between myself and the players. But to have someone in his mid-20s, he's not that far removed from some of the challenges these kids face and the different things that they encounter in their lives.”

Giving back to a school, a community that gave him so much

Provencher wants to be more than a coach to these Warriors. He often talks about his senior basketball year at Winnacunnet, a season that ended at Lundholm Gymnasium in a Division I semifinal loss to Portsmouth.

“We always emphasized effort and competitiveness,” Provencher said. “We had a great team.”

Provencher said his “escape” from the challenges he was dealing with in his personal life was to come to school, be with his friends and make sure he was doing his homework. Now, he wants to be a coach kids can come to and talk about everyday issues and not just basketball.

“I tell these kids that if you have anything going on at home, don’t be afraid to talk to your coaches, don’t be afraid to talk to me,” Provencher said. “I'm a great role model. I've been through some tough times, and I played basketball here and that was my escape. My escape was to come here, be with my friends and play basketball every single day. I just want to let the kids know that if they need me, I'm here. That's my role. I'm not only here to coach, but I'm also here to be a role model, and that's what I plan to do.”

Coaches, teachers, friends helped Provencher find right path

Provencher spent his senior year at Winnacunnet living at a friend’s house. If not for this friend and her family, and coaches like McKenna and Larry Francoeur, as well as teachers and friends “who loved him” Provencher doesn’t want to think about where he would be at this point in his life.

“Probably doing something bad,” Provencher said. “I'm grateful for the position I'm in, and I'm grateful for the people in my life."

McKenna said he and Francoeur, at the time, the Winnacunnet junior varsity coach, always “saw something” in Provencher, and did as much as they could to assist.

Knowing Provencher needed an opportunity to improve on his grades upon graduating high school, McKenna reached out to Southern Maine Community College head coach Matt Richards to see if there was room for Provencher with the SeaWolves of the Yankee Small College Conference. Richards, who met McKenna at a coaching clinic one summer, brought Provencher on board.

“I'd like to think Larry and I played a part in (helping Provencher), but I'd like to think that because of his personality, his work ethic, and just the intrinsic things of what makes him who he is he would have found success,” McKenna said. “I think there's a lot of credit that needs to go to him, too. He's the one who faced those challenges, and he's the one who had to do the hard work. I'm incredibly proud of who he is as a person and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him.”

McKenna knows coaching is more than Xs and Os

McKenna was part of Winnacunnet’s 1992 state championship team and is entering his 19th season as the head coach at his alma mater. In all his time, the only player he played against or coached against who went on to the NBA was Concord’s Matt Bonner, who played 12 years with the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs.

“I've coached for a lot of years, and I've had a lot of players come through here and had a lot of great kids, and no one has played in the NBA,” McKenna said. “I think we, as high school coaches, all understand that the chance of coaching someone who turns professional is slim, but maybe you can make a difference in a kid's life, and you can help them become a successful adult.

“We've had a lot of good kids and a lot of kids who have gone on to become wildly successful,” McKenna continued. “But I think Seth’s story is one of the most incredible stories that we've sort of been able to be a part of. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of it to be able to help him. That's all he needed. He just needed some people to help him, and he was able to lean on us, and he made some really good choices. One success led to another and here he is.”

Provencher called a ‘great human being’

Asked why McKenna took a special liking to Provencher and why he helped him any way he could, the answer was pretty simple.

“Because he's a great human being, that was always apparent,” McKenna said. “Much has been said and written about and deservingly so for some of the challenges he faced as a younger kid. He was always so positive in his approach to things, even things that were challenging beyond what many of us can even comprehend. He always remained Seth, he was always very positive and he worked hard. He was one of those kids who just reacted to that support. He understood that people were trying to help him and he reacted very positively with that.

“I'm beyond fortunate I have two amazing daughters and very fortunate to have the relationship I have with them,” McKenna continued. “But I don't have a son. Over time some of these guys, some of the kids who have played for me, Seth being one of them, have become almost like surrogate sons to me. To be able to have that relationship and be able to support Seth over the years, and now have him come back and support me, I can't thank him enough. I appreciate him, who he is and everything he's done.”

Relationship played role in Provencher joining the Winnacunnet staff

Make no mistake, Provencher’s decade-long relationship with McKenna proved pivotal in him joining the Warrior basketball staff.

“He's someone I know I can depend on,” McKenna said. “He’s someone who wants to be a part of (our program), and wants to give back. This is an amazing story about a kid who wants to give back to the community that gave to him.”

McKenna said it’s great Provencher recognizes the value in what the Winnacunnet community provided for him.

“Now he wants to be able to provide that same sort of support for other kids who might be in similar situations to what he was in,” McKenna said. “For us, it was really a no-brainer. As soon as (Connolly) said he was going to have to take a step back from the day-to-day stuff, (Provencher) was one of the first guys we thought of.”

Provencher living his best life

Provencher is now thriving. He has a full-time job that he likes and can grow in, he has a girlfriend who he shares a home with.

“I am very thankful for her,” he said. “Everything right now is going great.”

His girlfriend is Italian, and Provencher she has helped him harness his skills in the kitchen.

“I love cooking, especially with a girlfriend who's full-blown Italian,” Provencher laughed. “We eat a lot of pasta.”

His favorite meal to cook?

“Definitely chicken alfredo,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seth Provencher overcame tough times, rejoins Winnacunnet basketball