Derba promoted to UMaine baseball associate head coach – Bangor Daily News

ORONO, Maine — Nick Derba heads into his third year with the University of Maine baseball program with a new title.

The former minor league catcher has been promoted to associate head coach, Black Bears head coach Steve Trimper announced Thursday.

“He’s going to be a head coach at a Division I school sometime in the future,” Trimper said. “The least I could do is make a title change and give him the associate head coach position. He deserves it.”

Derba primarily has worked with hitters and catchers and has coordinated UMaine’s recruiting. But he means much more to the program, according to Trimper.

“He’s an absolutely tenacious worker,” Trimper said. “A big part of this job goes unseen. We coach 30 percent of the time, nowadays. It’s recruiting, fundraising, camps, community service. Derba takes the brunt of a lot of the stuff for me that isn’t coaching.”

Trimper said Derba’s title change does not include a salary increase.

The former Manhattan College star was a 30th-round draft choice of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007 and played six seasons in the minors. That included time at Class AAA Memphis of the Pacific Coast League in 2012.

Derba retired in 2012 and began his coaching career with his former Cape Cod Baseball League team, the Chatham Anglers. He spent one season as a volunteer at Manhattan, where he was a three-time, All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first-team catcher and a three-year captain.

Derba graduated with in 2007 with a degree in biology and a concentration in pre-medical studies. He obtained a double minor in psychology and chemistry.

Husson announces field hockey class

Bangor High School product Georgia Moir is among six eastern Maine players who have committed to play field hockey at Husson University starting this season.

Coach Madeline Hoeppner also has brought in Rylie Blanchet of Skowhegan, Abigail Dyer of Gardiner, Brooke Quirion of Messalonskee High in Oakland, Abigail Simmons of Foxcroft Academy and Austyn Thomas of Mount View High in Thorndike.

The Eagles also welcome Heather Douglas of Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.

Douglas registered 20 goals and 32 assists at Tyngsboro, where she twice was named the Midland-Wachusett League MVP. She plans to study nursing.

Moir led Bangor to two playoff appearances and earned Class A second-team honors last season. She finished with 20 goals in four seasons. She also plans to study nursing.

Quirion was a member of Messalonskee’s Eastern Maine Class A runner-up teams from 2011-2013. She helped lead the Eagles to the semifinals last fall.

Thomas, who lives in Brooks, helped Mount View earn consecutive Class C state semifinal berths in 2013 and 2014. The winner of the Class C East Sportsmanship Award plans to study accounting and pursue a master’s degree in business administration.

Blanchet comes from a powerhouse Skowhegan program, where she won Class A state championships from 2011-2013 and a regional crown last year.

Dyer earned the Class B Player of the Year award last year after aiding Belfast’s charge to the EM title and a state runner-up finish. She plans to study environmental science.

Simmons, who lives in Charleston, helped Foxcroft win the 2013 Class C state championship in 2013 and a regional runner-up finish in 2012. She intends to pursue a nursing degree.

Husson is coming off a 2014 season during which it won the North Atlantic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Division III national tournament.