Photo by Tim Marshall

For the first time in 12 years, the East Providence High School boys' basketball team will have a new face in the lead seat on the bench next winter after now former head coach Alex Butler submitted his resignation from the position.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Townies' most successful campaign in recent years, which culminated in a trip to the Division I quarterfinals and the program's first-ever berth in the Open State Tournament following a 12-4 record during the regular season.

It was a decision, however, that was made thoughtfully. A terrific performer during his playing days for the Townies in the early 1990s, Butler went onto have an all-time career at Rhode Island College where he finished his days as the second leading scorer in Anchorman history (2,398 points), had his jersey retired and is a Hall of Famer.

Butler, who was the EPHS girls' varsity head coach for one season in 2004-05, finishes his tenure with a 95-117 record in Division I regular season games. His Townies made the playoffs at the end of eight of those seasons, compiling a 4-9 mark, including a 1-1 record during this past year's Open tourney. Previously, Butler spent two years as an assistant at his alma mater then spent a half-season as an interim EPHS boys' hoops assistant in '02-03 when then head coach Kevin Monagle was called up to active duty in the U.S. Navy and his assistant, Gary Cimaglia, served as interim head coach.

“I have put my resignation in and have stepped down from boys’ basketball. I didn't just wake up one day and say ‘this is it.’ This is something that I have been thinking about for a couple of years,” Coach Butler said. “I think more than anything I am just burnt out. I have been coaching basketball in some capacity since the 1999-2000 season. On top of that my kids are seven and three and I am missing stuff with them. It was a decision I made for my family and myself.”

Coach Butler, who had five winning seasons during his EPHS tenure that began in the 2004-05 season, leaves saying his love for the game “is still there.” But maintaining the same fiery demeanor and intense emphasis to detail that made him a great player, also eventually took a toll on him as a coach.

“Playing and then coaching the game, basketball is my main game. The stresses I put on myself to want to be successful and put the best product on the floor wears on you, too,” he said. “It isn't about the wins and the losses, but for the amount of time you put into the job you want to see success. You see kids getting better, but I didn't think I was getting the return I was putting in. You don't do the job for the money, you do it for the love the game. I was starting to question whether or not it was worth the stress I was putting on myself and the time I was missing with my family.

“There really is not downtime. Maybe some people would say ‘you don't have to do it that way,’ but I don't know any other way. I take it extremely serious and it started to take its tole on me and I am not 30 years old anymore. In my mind it ended on a positive note with a good team.”

Coach Butler said he thought about resigning a year ago, but decided to stay because of the group of seniors.

“I thought about resigning after the past two or three seasons,” he said. “It was really hard because we weren't successful on the floor and we didn't get out it what we were hoping for. I thought, ‘maybe it is time for a new message,’ but then I thought about the seniors.”

Before the decision was known to anyone, Coach Butler made sure to tell the people that kept him in the game for this long.

“What meant the most was the day-to-day relationship with the kids,” he said. “I am going to miss them. I still have contact with kids from the very first team all the way through. A lot of the kids have heard and have said, ‘thank you.’ A lot of what I did wasn't just for basketball, it was for life.

“I sat down and told the guys on the team first before I even told the assistant coaches because I thought that they deserved that right. I told them ‘some of you guys may be upset, but I hope you respect my decision.’”

Looking back at his tenure, Coach Butler believes that his program was successful, but wishes he could have brought a championship back to E.P.

“I don’t have a doubt in my mind that we were successful with the program because I have seen kids who have comeback and come to games. Did we win a championship? No. Did we win some divisions? Yes. Did we win more games than we lost? Yes, but East Providence hasn't won a basketball championship since 1976,” Coach Butler said. “We got close and for me the run was great. For me it was the kids and I know I did right by them and I did as best as I could to be as successful as possible for those kids.”

While Coach Butler is resigning from boys’ basketball, he still plans on coaching girls’ volleyball in the fall, noting the time of the year and the lesser time restraints.

Now, Coach Butler turns his attention to his family and next year’s volleyball team, stating that he will not be coaching any other high school basketball teams in the state.