AUGUSTA -- Bruce Hunt says he has been in the gym almost year-round since he was 7 years old. After nearly 700 games as a head coach, Hunt will be back in the gym this winter -- as a father and a fan.

Hunt resigned last week after 15 seasons as Cony High School boys basketball coach. He said his family was the main factor in his decision. Hunt's son, Tyler, will be coaching the Winthrop boys this season, and his daughter, Natalie, will be a freshman at Maranacook.

"She plays, and I'm going to watch her play," Bruce Hunt said. "I want to be able to support her after she supported me all these years."

Hunt, who had a 177-117 record at Cony and was named Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times, met with the team's three seniors on Thursday, then went to athletic director Paul Vachon to hand in his letter of resignation.

"Who knows if I'll go back to coaching again?" said Hunt. "I still have that competitive fire."

But Hunt, 51, made it clear he would not be an assistant to his daughter's team.

"No, and I'm not going to help Tyler out (on the bench)," he said. "Tyler's better than I am, and he'll do a great job at Winthrop."

Hunt began his coaching career in 1981 at Digby Regional High School in Nova Scotia. He moved on to Horton District High School, also in Nova Scotia, before coaching at Medomak Valley High School and then Cony. The Augusta school is his alma mater and also where his father, Dick, won two state titles in 10 seasons.

Vachon had high praise for Bruce, who coached Vachon's sons Aaron and Adam at Cony.

"He's one of the most organized, hard-working, disciplined and knowledgeable coaches I have ever worked with," Vachon said. "I can't think of anyone who loves the game more than he does. His teams were always prepared for every situation possible."

Vachon said longtime Cony assistant Kirk Cooper has been handling the Rams' summer program. Vachon added that the job will be advertised until Aug. 31, and that the committee would move quickly after that so the players could get familiar with the new coaches as soon as possible.

Already, Hunt said, people have called asking him if he was forced out. He said nothing of that sort happened.

"I went in on my own terms 15 years ago and I left on my own terms," Hunt said.

Own terms or not, it was still a tough decision for Hunt, who has been coaching for almost 30 years.

"I guarantee I won't miss the bus rides. I won't miss the scouting trips, the late nights," Hunt said. "I still have lots of connections with kids that I've coached when I started back in 1981. I'm going to miss developing new relationships with kids and watching them grow into adults."

Matt DiFilippo -- 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com