POTSDAM — A year-end banquet for the Potsdam boys basketball team became a farewell party for head coach Steven Kmack on Wednesday night.

“It’s time to say good bye,” said Kmack, who was addressing the crowd of players, parents, friends and colleagues gathered in the banquet room at Sergi’s in Potsdam. “This is a very hard decision. I don’t do a lot of things well but coaching basketball is one thing that I do very well. It’s not official yet because I still have to fill out some paperwork, but I decided today that it was best for me to step down.”

“I started coaching in the ‘70s and my career has spanned five decades. It’s taken its toll on me. I’ve lost my gall bladder, I’ve lost my appendix and I’ve lost my prostate,” he joked. “But, my heart is still good and it’s filled with grattitude and thanks for all my friends who have stuck by me over the years.”

In his third stint as head coach at Potsdam, Kmack helped elevate the Sandstoners into one of the top programs in not only Section 10, but the state, as well. They were celebrating a third straight NAC Central Division and Section 10 Class B championship season on Wednesday. The Sandstoners were state Class B runners-up in 2011 after having reached the state semifinals in 2010. The 66-7 record posted by Potsdam the past three winters boosted Kmack to a 327-90 career mark.

Before announcing his plans to leave the position, the four seniors on this year’s Potsdam team — Josh Adams, Lee Buchanan, Mike Chambers and Camron Waters – were given a chance to to talk about their coach.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer