Renowned Augusta basketball coach Paul Vachon nearly died 3 years ago. Now he’s back in the game.

Former Cony girls basketball coach Paul Vachon observes a 5-on-5 drill during the Capital City Future Stars Basketball Camp at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer) [](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7239880474&iu=/6119) _High school sports coverage is proudly supported by **[Maine State Credit Union](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7239880474&iu=/6119).**_  AUGUSTA — The voice is as recognizable as ever in Maine’s capital city. On Tuesday, it roared throughout the Augusta Civic Center in a throwback to years gone by. As he stood at midcourt, Paul Vachon was surrounded on all sides by elementary and middle school-aged basketball players running drills. Their energy and enthusiasm were outmatched perhaps only by the coaching legend himself as he bellowed into the microphone. “Don’t let them score!” shouted Vachon, one of the state’s iconic girls basketball coaches at Cony from 1985-2008. To Karen Magnusson, hearing his passion and pride in defense was cathartic after the last three years. “He’s back doing the things he loves, and that couldn’t bring us more joy,” said Magnusson, who played for Vachon from 1999-2003 at Cony and now coaches at Maranacook. “For anyone who understands what he’s been through and how good of a coach he is, it couldn’t bring us more joy.” [Three years after heart and kidney transplants](https://www.centralmaine.com/2023/06/29/cony-coaching-legend-paul-vachon-reminded-hes-not-alone-a-game-on-for-vachon/), Vachon, 72, has made the long road to recovery and returned to the game he loves. The 2014 Maine Basketball Hall of Fame inductee will be front and center at the ACC over the next two weeks leading the Capital City Future Stars Basketball Clinic. Advertisement In the early hours of May 11, 2023, Vachon was rushed to the hospital following a massive heart attack. He was later taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland and ultimately airlifted to Boston, where he would receive a heart transplant June 4 and a kidney transplant June 6. He would be intubated until June 15. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43675595_20260629_kjms.vachonbballcamp.0701_0y086.jpg) Former Cony girls coach Paul Vachon gives instructions to a camper during the Capital City Future Stars Basketball Camp on Tuesday at the Augusta Civic Center. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43675595_20260629_kjms.vachonbballcamp.0701_0y086.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Former%20Cony%20girls%20coach%20Paul%20Vachon%20gives%20instructions%20to%20a%20camper%20during%20the%20Capital%20City%20Future%20Stars%20Basketball%20Camp%20on%20Tuesday%20at%20the%20Augusta%20Civic%20Center.%20%28Anna%20Chadwick%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) Finally, on July 2, 2023, Vachon was released from the hospital. Still, he was immunocompromised after his release, and his condition prevented him from attending basketball games in 2023-24 —  a real bummer with his daughter, Amy, coaching at the University of Maine and the Cony girls making a regional title run that winter. “It was hard, but I knew I had to do it because otherwise I would put myself right back in the hospital,” said Vachon, who led Cony to 11 Eastern Maine championships and seven state titles. “(Streaming) is the best thing that’s ever happened because I could still watch games, so I’m thankful for that. … I’m thankful for everything — every day I get up is a great day.” As his condition improved, Vachon wanted to get more involved with the game. Earlier this year, he began discussing Maranacook’s summer basketball camp with Karen Magnusson and Maranacook boys coach Travis Magnusson. Vachon, who held his Capital City Clinic camp at the ACC from 1989-2022, had a proposal. “It started when he said, ‘Why aren’t you guys at the Civic Center?’ and when I said, ‘I don’t know,’ he said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Karen Magnusson said. “The thing I’m most grateful for is that I’ve been able to create a different relationship with him. It’s more colleague-to-colleague, and for me, that’s been surreal.” Future Stars Basketball Clinic features a boys session this week with 101 players from third through ninth grade in attendance from 9 a.m-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday. A girls session will be held at the same times Monday-Thursday of the following week with roughly 100 players set to attend. Advertisement [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43675595_20260629_kjms.vachonbballcamp.0701_0y085.jpg) Former Cony girls basketball coach Paul Vachon reacts to a well-executed drill during the Capital City Future Stars Basketball Camp on Tuesday at the Augusta Civic Center. Vachon had heart and kidney transplants in 2023 and is back running the camp with Maranacook coaches Karen and Travis Magnusson. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43675595_20260629_kjms.vachonbballcamp.0701_0y085.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Former%20Cony%20girls%20basketball%20coach%20Paul%20Vachon%20reacts%20to%20a%20well-executed%20drill%20during%20the%20Capital%20City%20Future%20Stars%20Basketball%20Camp%20on%20Tuesday%20at%20the%20Augusta%20Civic%20Center.%20Vachon%20had%20heart%20and%20kidney%20transplants%20in%202023%20and%20is%20back%20running%20the%20camp%20with%20Maranacook%20coaches%20Karen%20and%20Travis%20Magnusson.%20%28Anna%20Chadwick%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) Volunteer coaches at Tuesday’s session included former and current Maranacook players, like rising seniors Brennan Boyd and Jack Fontaine, as well as graduates Celia Bergdahl (2026) and Grace Dwyer (2022), the latter of whom attended Vachon’s old Capital City Clinic camps. “I was there through eighth grade, and I know (what) it means to him to be back,” Dwyer said. “When he gets the microphone, you know he’s going to say something motivational to get the kids going. … With him coaching (Karen Magnusson) and me playing for (her), now I know where all that knowledge came from.” Vachon admitted that he didn’t know if he would be back in this position when he was sitting in the hospital three years ago. While hospitalized, Vachon’s wife, Debbie, read the countless letters, emails and other messages from friends, family and former players. That support, he said, kept him going. What keeps him going now are the excited young players running around the ACC floor. The joy on display Tuesday morning, Vachon said, showed that the excitement for basketball in Maine hasn’t waned since he was patrolling the sidelines across town more than two decades ago. “It hasn’t changed a bit,” he said. “Kids want to be part of it and come here and work hard six hours a day. It’s a great tribute to the wonderful coaches we have that continue to carry on the tradition of basketball that we’ve had in this state for many, many years.” Copy the Story Link Tagged: [Augusta Civic Center](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/augusta-civic-center/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/mike-mandell) [Mike MandellStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/mike-mandell) Mike Mandell came to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel in April 2022 after spending five and a half years with The Ellsworth American in Hancock County, Maine. He came to Maine out of college after. [More by Mike Mandell](https://www.pressherald.com/author/mike-mandell)