Seacoast United Maine

Gorham gets by Bath
Baths Stephen Scheibner awaits the call as he slides into home
Chipman’s Trek
to Nicaragua
NICARAGUA – Brunswick
High School’s Kip Chipman
commits a lot of her time to
playing soccer. Not only does
the talented senior defender
play for the top ranked Lady
Dragons in the fall, she also
plays premier soccer throughout the winter and spring. So
what does Chipman do with
her spare time in the hot summer months besides playing
soccer with her Brunswick
High School summer team; she
heads to Nicaragua for nine
days, July 9 through July 17,
and volunteers her time with
the Soccer Without Boarders
program.
“Their mission is to give
children in underserved coun-
tries, and particularly girls,
opportunities for growth and
change, using soccer as a common language, says Chipman.
The program was the first one
offered to high-school age students (other programs are for
college students). I was one of
the students chosen to attend
from across the country; there
were kids from Connecticut,
Pennsylvania, Los Angeles,
Berkeley, and other places.”
Soccer Without Borders runs
community led, year round
youth development programs
in underserved areas in the
USA and abroad. They provide programming to socially,
politically, and economically
marginalized youth who are
AUGUST 5, 2011 • VOL1, ISSUE 11
BATH – Playing without the
services of Alexander Bartone
(vacation), Justin Johnston (Injury), and Nicholas Doughty
(vacation), the Bath boys all
star team fought hard to come
out of the losers bracket by
beating a solid Wiscasset team
to get to the championship
game before falling to Gorham
12-2 in the 12U Bob Bourget
Baseball Tournament held in
Bath recently.
After Bath stranded two
runners in scoring position in
the top of the first, Gorham
came out in their half, scoring
five runs to set the tone for the
game. A sharp single to left by
lead off batter Gerek Brown
was followed by a double off
the bat of Adam Peterson to
put runners at second a third. A
walk to Logan Drouin loaded
them up and Erik Andreason
put Gorham on the board with
a RBI single to left.
A fielders choice by Jordon
Sherwood sent another runner
home before Gorham’s Jason
Komulane drilled a single to
center scoring two more. Michael Walls split right center
to score Sherwood before bath
pitcher Keegan McDonough
struck out the final Gorham
batter to put an end to the inning.
Gorham put three more
across the plate in the bottom
of the second on two home
runs. Billy Ruby hit a solo shot
to left field and after a Bath error Drouin drilled a line drive
deep to the edge of the woods
in left center to give Gorham a
8-0 lead.
Bath, like in the first,
threatened again in the top of
the third but came up empty.
Stand out center fielder Tucker Banger (three hits, one RBI)
 BATH cont. on page 2
Photo courtesy of Rufus Head. Brunswick defender Kip Chipman
Photo Inset: Girls working on their game. Courtesy of www.soccerwithoutboarders.org
systematically excluded from
sports based and extracurricular activities. Soccer provides
these youth with an avenue for
positive engagement, a plat-
form for personal growth, and
a tool kit for a brighter future.
Nicaragua is the largest
country in Central America
and considered by most a third
world country. “Nicaragua is a
poor country, there were many
beggars, street vendors, stray
dogs, and other cultural differ-
 Nicaragua cont. on pg 2
page 2 • MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11
 Nicaragua cont. from pg 1
Nicholas Doughty of Bath
delivering the heat
 BATH con’t from page1
led off with a single to center
and was replaced on first base
after a Stephen Scheibner fielder’s choice. After McDonough
was hit by a pitch, Matt Belanger singled to load up the
bases. With two outs, Gorham
caught a Bath runner too far off
the base and the ensuing rundown got Gorham pitcher Drouin out of the jam.
Bath scored one run each in
the top of the fourth and fifth
to cut the Gorham lead to 8-2.
In the fourth, Taylor Shaw led
off with a walk and moved to
second on the other Nicholas
Doughty (no relation) single.
After a Bath strike out, Banger
doubled to deep center to drive
home Shaw for the first Bath run.
In the fifth, McDonough led
off the inning with a blast down
the line just inside the foul pole
for a solo home run and Bath’s
second run of the game.
Gorham put the game away
in the bottom as the fifth as Andreason, Nolan Brown, Luke
Roop, Walls, and Brandon
Desjardins all hit consecutive
singles, scoring four runs and a
12-2 Gorham victory.
ences (especially different from
Brunswick!) We stayed in a
town called Granada and lived
with a host family (like an exchange student would). They
spoke very little English but
were very friendly and accommodating. The living accommodations were very rustic by
our standards, but they did have
internet, so I was able to stay in
contact with my friends and
family in Maine” recalls Chipman,. “The food was OK, we
had rice and beans nearly every
day, and we couldn’t drink the
tap water or eat the vegetables,
since they were worried we’d
get sick. I didn’t realize how
much I missed fresh vegetables
until I couldn’t have any.”
A key focus of Soccer Without Borders’ work is creating
opportunities for girls to play
soccer. They strive to create
programs that empower girls
through soccer opportunities
and life-skills education to
meet their potential personally,
athletically, and in their communities. By identifying and
developing local role models,
fostering the growth of confidence, self-esteem, and healthy
choices, and creating safe spaces for girls to enjoy the benefits
of sports, SWB works at the
grassroots level to reach girls in
their local communities.
Their work is grounded in
research on the positive developmental benefits of sports,
particularly for girls in the areas of self-esteem, body image, self-confidence, and perceived competency. Targeting
areas where access to sports for
girls is non existent, minimal,
or inequitable, the SWB girl’s
program site specific curriculums and initiatives to build a
program best suited for the obstacles facing women in a particular area.
More then 75% of SWB staff
are female athletes who have
competed at the collegiate,
professional and international
levels. While SWB has been
committed to serving all youth
through its programs since it’s
founding in 2006, it became
Photo courtesy of Xiao Hafez. Interns and participants from SWB. Kip Chipman, first row
fourth from left.
Photo courtesy of Xiao Hafez. A typical soccer pitch in Nicaragua
apparent over time that creating
programs for boys was much
easier than for girls. Cultural
and fiscal barriers often funneled existing resources toward
young boys, leaving little to no
support for the growth of girls’
sports. The first ever SWB girls
specific initiative took place in
Monze, Zambia in the fall of
2007. Working with Beyond
Sport Inc., Soccer Without Borders volunteers worked to help
BSI develop girls specific soccer opportunities training a local coordinator to sustain the
program when the volunteers
Strip
ers &
s
Blue
returned to the United States.
Since then, SWB girls specific
initiatives have expanded to
Nicaragua and Argentina, and
will continue to expand in Latin America.
“We played pick-up soccer with coaches from the
program, and we did a lot of
practices and activities with
the young girls that take part
in SWB. We did a relay race
around the town one evening,
and that was fun. Adds Chipman, We also toured the town
and countryside and saw Lake
Nicaragua which was absolute-
n!
i
e
r
a
P
un
o
U
y
t
S wha
G have
N
I
SH We
FI
S
E
I
PL eed
ly beautiful.”
Kip Chipman will certainly
have an interesting “what I did
over summer vacation” idea to
write about.
Soccer Without Boarders
is a Non-Profit 501 (C) (3)
organization. Information from this article was
obtained on their website
www.soccerwithoutboard
ers.org
JOHNSON’S
SPORTING GOODS
Brunswick 207-725-7531
Rockland 207-594-2916
Portland 207-773-5909
www.JohnsonsSportingGoods.com
Brunswick Soccer Camp
The Brunswick Soccer Club hosted the third annual Midcoast Youth Soccer Camp recently.
Girls from fourth grade and up participated as players from Brunswick High School volunteered their time. The camp was directed by BHS coaches Martyn Davison and Pat Roche.
MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11 • page 3
From the Bowdoin College website
Bowdoin
Sports
Morong Brunswick Winners
Recap |
Bowdoin Sailing
Announces 2011
Fall Schedule
Jim Johnston standing in front of a 2012 Passat offered by Morong Brunswick
Jim Johnston and Becky Doughty were the winners of a IPod Nano and a Nano Touch generously donated by Morong Brunswick. All the money raised, $225 was donated to the Bath
Youth Sports Program which will put the money towards promoting area youth programs.
Thank you to everyone who bought tickets.
Ararat U10 All Stars
The Ararat U10 baseball all
star team came out of the losers
bracket to beat Gorham twice,
winning the U10 Kyle Fitzherbert Baseball Tournament,
which was held in Bath. On the
Ararat pitcher Nick Merrill
final day of play, Ararat beat
Lisbon 8-6 to get to the championship game where they had
to beat Gorham twice. They did
just that winning the first game
7-6 before taking the final 4-3.
BRUNSWICK - The Bowdoin College sailing team has released
its 2011 fall schedule, consisting of 45 events over the course of
10 weekends this autumn.
Highlighting the slate will be three home events at Bethel Point
in October. Bowdoin will host the Hewitt Trophy Race on October
1, the Casco Bay Open on October 8 and the New England Freshman Championships on October 29.
The Polar Bears will open their campaign with four events the
weekend of September 10, including the Women’s Toni Deustch
Trophy (MIT), the Penobscot Bay Open (Maine Maritime), the
Mt. Hope Bay Invitational (Roger Williams) and Lark Invitational
(Tufts).
Coach Frank Pizzo is entering his fourth season as the head
coach of the Bowdoin sailing team. The Polar Bears will be captained by Ben Berg, Sarah Fiske, Jeffrey Goodrich.
page 4 • MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11
Athletes Profile
Zach McMillan - Most
students after they graduate
look forward to that first year
of college and then returning
home for the summer to see
friends, family and unwind a
little from the stress of the first
year of college. Then there
are students like Zach McMillan. His first year of college
has been at Norwich University and his relaxing summer
has been anything but. After a
freshman year filled with the
rigors of Cadet life, playing
sports, Soccer and Lacrosse and
maintaining an impressive 3.5
GPA, Zach reported to Ft Benning Georgia on May 20th for
BCT then on to 5 weeks of AIT,
which after completion he will
be home from the 25th of August to the 28th of August, then
back to Vermont and Norwich,
yes a long relaxing summer.
Zach always made Brunswick
proud with a great performance
on and off the field and the 2
sport All Conference athlete is
doing the same at Norwich. His
parents Tracey and Kevin McMillan are very proud of all he
has accomplished. Norwich is
lucky to have him and we will
miss his grit and determination
this year on the field. You can
get highlights scores and information by going to the Norwich
University site. Good luck Zach
in all your adventures.
Your connection for local sports.
Jason Coombs
207-837-7080
[email protected]
Pete Champagne
207-319-4146
[email protected]
Sales & Marketing Rep
Lee Freitag
401-862-0421
Sports Scores
To report scores please email to Jason or Pete
Photographs
If you see a photograph you would like to
purchase please contact us
rainbowTROUT
Zach McMillan playing Lacrosse for Norwich. Zach & his
girlfriend, Erica Paulette ready for a formal evening.
Some of you
might not know
what Rainbow
Trout are. They
are very slender
fish which have
different colors
such as pink and
blue. Parts of
the fish are fluorescent in color
thus, giving them the name
Rainbow Trout. These fish are
not caught on an everyday basis. They are usually found in
very clear water such as clear
rivers and streams. While Trout
like to be in fresh and clear water they can also be released
into dirty water and still live
and strive.
Rainbow Trout usually will
not eat minnows or larger lures
until they are several years old.
You can usually catch a smaller
Rainbow Trout on wax worms
or regular worms. Live bait will
always work very well in catching some Rainbow Trout. A lot
of people will actually have
them in their ponds which are
spring fed because these Trout
chase different sets of baits
that work well for Rainbow
Trout. The best time to catch
them would be when there is
a slight overcast or when it is
cloudy. Since the water is so
clear, they will get very easily
spooked. The smaller the lure
that you use the better. Remember to bring back up lures because they will often times get
snagged up in weeds and trees.
Rainbow Trout are very beautiful fish but they also taste really
good too!
do very well in crystal clear
waters. If you have any streams
nearby which have fish in them
they will probably contain
some species of Trout.
If you are looking to catch
yourself a Rainbow Trout you
will need to go to an area which
has Rainbow Trout. Ask around
in your area to see where they
are known to reside. The best
time to catch a Rainbow Trout
is right after the sun comes up
or close to the time when it is
getting dark because these are
feeding times. The best time
of the year to catch a Rainbow Trout is during the spring
or in the fall as well. You will
want to try and catch them before or after summer time. You
will usually not catch as many
Rainbow Trout in the summer
months.
A good thing about fishing
for Rainbow Trout is that you
don’t have to use huge lures.
You can use spinners or spoons
but make sure that they are the
smaller version, around 1/2
inch in length. You can go to
your local bait shop and pur-
Rigs and Baits:
1. Powerbait Rig:
For this rig you need some
small swivels, some1/4 oz
egg sinkers, some size 14
treble hooks, some 2 lb test
flourocarbon leader, and
some rainbow (green, orange, and yellow mix) Powerbait. First, slide the egg
sinker onto your main line
and then tie on a swivel.
from the swivel tie on 2-3’
of the leader material and
then tie on the size 14 treble.
cover the hook in a ball of
Powerbait just big enough so
you can barely see the tips of
the hook.
2. Salmon egg rig
(if you are fishing a stream
or river) For this one all
you need is some size 10
egg hooks, and some small
splitshot sinkers. Just tie on
the hook and put a splitshot
about 2’ above it. simply
cast it into the calm swirling
pools (eddies) and wait.
3. Lures
Some good trout lures are:
Acme Kastmasters-gold 1/8
oz
Worden’s Roostertail- yellow 1/8 oz.
Thomas Bouyant- Gold/Red
3/8 oz
Rapala Countdown- Firetiger size CD-5 or CD-3
(best when trolled but can
also be cast)
Mepps Spinners- Black with
red spots size 4
(All of these lures are excellent when retrieved at a medium speed about halfway
up the water column except
the Rapala which is best
trolled slowly behind a boat)
Circulation
Maine Sports Weekly is a free publication and is
distributed on Fridays at various locations in the
school districts of Brunswick, Freeport, Morse,
Mt. Ararat, Richmond and Wiscasset
Contact us
Maine Sports Weekly
23A Jordan Ave., Brunswick. Me 04011
207-837-7080
coming soon
www.MaineSportsWeekly.com
CHAMPS
Be sure to check
local and state
regulations to make
sure the bait and or
lure is legal to use
as some streams
and lakes have
special regulations.
MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11 • page 5
Local Schools hand out Spring Awards
Freeport
Middle School Winners
Baseball Heart of the Falcons Award – Luke LaMagna
Baseball Falcon Pride Award – Jared Knighton
Baseballs Boosters Pride and Character Award
– Sawyer Williams
JV Baseball Athletic Excellence Award
– Nate Smith & Brandon Williams
JV Baseball Boosters Pride and Character awar – Brian Rhea
Softball Best offensive Player Award – Leigh Wyman
Softball Best defensive Player Award – Dani Perry
Softball Boosters Pride and Character Award – Andrea Grant
JV Softball Athletic Excellence Award
– Naomi Otis & Luara Ramage
JV Softball Boosters Pride and Character Award – Lucy Soule
Boys Lacrosse Coaches Award – Joe Loeman and Alex Sturevant
Boys Lacrosse Boosters Pride & Character Award – Hans Pope
Girls Lacroose Coaches Award – Jess Hench
Girls Lacrosse Most Improves Player – Molly Lane
Girls Lacrosse Boosters Pride & Character Award
– Lauren Easler
Girls JV Lacrosse Athletic Experience Award
– Lee Brown & Julie Fosburg
Girls JV Lacrosse Boosters Pride & Character Award
– Emily Sturtevant
Outdoor Track Finish Line Award
– Ryan Collet & Kelly Edwards
Outdoor Track Starting Block Award
– Elly Bengtson & Harrison Stivers
Outdoor Track Boosters Pride & Character Award
– Taylor Saucier & Brianna Roy
Boys Tennis Coaches Award – Ben Forster & Zachary Grant
Boys Tennis Boosters Pride and Character Award – Scott Ross
Girls tennis Coaches Award – Katie McClelland & Sophia Smith
Girls Tennis Boosters Pride & Character Award – Kayley Johnson
All Sports Boosters Senior Athletes of the Year Award
– Spencer Egan & Allyson Fuehrer
All Sport Boosters Scholarships Awarded to
– Ryan Collet, Matt Creasy, Griffin Day, Spencer Egan, Allyson
Fuehrer, Erin Hall, Max Jennings, Evan Lamarre, Katie Poulin,
Scott Ross & Bennett Wade
8th Grade Boys’ Lacrosse – Ramsey Dodge & Sam Wogan
7th Grade Boys’ Lacrosse – Forrest McCurdy & Chandler Vincent
8th Grade Girls’ Lacrosse – Maggie Davis & Julia Dearden
7th Grade Girls’ Lacrosse – Courtney Broderick & Nina Moore
8th Grade Baseball – Peter LaMagna & Jake Salter
7th Grade Baseball – Quinton Libsack & Caleb Rice
8th Grade Softball – Mackenzie Ackley and Samantha Wilkins
7th Grade Softball – Hannah Morrisey and Elizabeth Wiest
High School Winners
Mt. Ararat
High School
Coach’s Awards:
Varsity Baseball
– Torrey Charnock
JV Baseball
– Jake Liedman
Freshman Baseball
– Griffin Stockford
Varsity Softball
-Mallory Nelson
JV Softball
– Shelby Riley
Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse
– Nick Parsons
JV Boys’ Lacrosse
– Tyler Charron
Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse
– Carly Raymond
JV Girls’ Lacrosse
– Tarynne Scott
Varsity Boys’ Track
– Ryan Smith
Varsity Girls’ Track
– Randi London
Varsity Boys’ Tennis
– Malcolm Marshall
Varsity Girls’ Tennis
– Amy Segars
Senior Awards:
Varsity Baseball
– Nick Karkos
Varsity Softball
– Miranda Riendeau-Card
Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse
– Casey Becker
Varsity Girls’ Lacrosse
– Heather Bolduc
Varsity Boys’ Track
– Jake Letourneau
Varsity Girls’ Track
– Val Johnstone
Varsity Boys’ Tennis
– Adam Levesque
Varsity Girls’ Tennis
– Caroline Tufts
ns
o
i
at
l
Congratu
!
s
e
t
e
l
Ath
Athletic Excellence:
Booster’s Pride and Character:
8th Grade Boys’ Lacrosse – Brian Sawyard
7th Grade Boys’ Lacrosse – Noah Grondin
8th Grade Birls’ Lacrosse – Lizzy Martin
7th Grade Girls’ Lacrosse – Lindsey Cartmell
8th Grade Baseball – Nathaniel Cyr
7th Grade Baseball – Caiden Cyr
8th Grade Softball – Hannah Williams
7th Grade Softball – Hannah Ray
North Yarmouth Academy
High School
Baseball MVP – Ryan Selerno
Baseball Coaches Award – Aaron Guiseley
Boys Lacrosse MYP – Weston Nolan
Boys Lacrosse Coaches Award – Matt Kibler
Boys JV Lacrosse Coaches Award – Ben Randall
Girls Lacrosse Coaches Award – Katie Crawley
Girls JV Lacrosse MVP – Olivia Madore
Girls JV Lacrosse Coaches Award – Emily Clayton
Softball MVP – Kylie Dalbec
Softball Coaches Award – Mallory Lanno
Boys Outdoor Track’s MVP - Alex Coffin.
Boys Outdoor Track Coaches Award – Grant McPherson
Girls Outdoor Track MVP - Hilary Detert.
Girls Outdoor Track Coaches Award – Kayla Rose
Boys Tennis MVP – Burke Paxton MVP.
Boys Tennis Coaches Award – Dean Walters
Girls Tennis Coaches Award – Sarah Jordan.
Girls Tennis Most Improved – Ally Morrison & Jessica Powers
Athletic Council Award Winners
– Charlie Gerrity & Emily Harrison
Ask The Ref. . .
page 6 • MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11
Sport Season Policy –
From the MPA website
Introduction
The MPA Sport Season Policy
has been written and accepted
by the membership for the following reasons:
• to provide a “level playing
field” between schools, so
that one set of students is
not placed at a disadvantage
to others with whom they
compete for state championships;
• to create definable seasons
of competition which allow students to participate
in various activities without
coaches feeling the need to
“compete” with each other
for athletes within their own
school;
• to discourage specialization
in the sense that students are
not deprived of a variety of
co-curricular experiences
which the high school “exploratory” life stage provides;
• to create a corridor which
protects some personal
time for students between
activities;
• to provide opportunity for
families to clearly define
times for vacations and other family functions; and
• to prevent the exploitation
and “burn out” of partici-
pant student athletes and
coaches.
Section 1
MPA member schools are required to limit all participation,
play, or practice in a sport by
all teams and individuals to the
season to which the sport is assigned. This policy applies to
all team and individual interscholastic competition grades
9 through 12 during the school
year only and does not apply
during the summer recess.
In order to provide a window
of personal time similar to the
time available prior to the winter and spring sports seasons,
summer recess is defined as the
time period between the last
day of the spring sport season
to August 1 or fourteen (14)
days prior to the beginning of
the fall sport season, whichever
occurs later. This does not exclude individual students from
attending camps during this
two-week period of personal
time as long as all other Sport
Season Policy requirements
are met. Individuals choosing to attend camps during
this two-week period may use
school protective gear or track
and field implements. Schools
wishing to attend a football
camp off campus may not leave
until the Monday morning of
the first day of practice.
The principal of an MPA
member high school may request a waiver for a spring
sports season coach to continue
to have contact with specific
spring student athletes during
MAINE PRINCIPALS’ ASSOCIATION
2011-2012 SPORT SEASON DATES
With spring sports behind us
and fall sports fast approaching, I thought this would be
a good week to go over high
school sports policies, as put
forth by the Maine Principles
Association. These are the rules
that dictate when the season
starts, how many scrimmages
a team is allowed, when coaches can have contact with their
schools players (and this means
all players from that particular school, not just players for
whom the coach coaches) etc.
Like the rules or not, these are
the rules that all high schools
must follow or risk penalty.
the two-week period prior to the
fall sport season. The request
must be in writing and must be
received by the Executive Director no later than July 25. The
Executive Director is authorized to grant waivers only in
unusual and specific instances
(Example: American Legion
coach). This waiver process is
not intended to permit a coach
to extend a summer program or
to work at a camp during this
two-week period.
Booster Clubs are an extension of the athletic program
and, therefore, are subject to
the restrictions of the Sport
Season Policy. It is understood
that fund raising is exempt
from this restriction for boosters clubs but not athletes and
coaches.
The sport seasons shall be
preceded by a practice period
of a minimum of two weeks
and a maximum of three weeks.
During the practice period,
teams may participate in clinics, scrimmages, round-robins,
exhibition games, and invitational events.
MPA sports committees will
establish dates for last countable games and play-off/tournament games.
Exceptions to the Sport Season Policy have been granted for
teams invited to participate in
MPA invitational tournaments,
the Aroostook potato harvest,
Deering-Portland and ConyGardiner football game, skiing
(when weather conditions dictate delays), and faculty/student
exhibition games conducted
following the sports season.
Section 2
Violations of this policy will occur when MPA member schools
permit a team or individuals to
play or practice a sport outside
the sport’s season through use
of school equipment, provision of transportation by the
school or a school-affiliated organization, or use of the school
name for out-of-season sports
activities. Additionally, activities organized for the purpose
of an out-of-season practice,
as defined by the Sport Season
Policy, are prohibited. Coaches
or advisors are prohibited from
coaching or giving instructions about a sport to members
of their teams individually or
collectively outside the sport
season for that sport. Others
who may not organize or coach
include, but are not limited to,
school affiliated organizations
and their members, captains,
and players. Exceptions to this
paragraph are:
1. A (one-time) meeting for the
purpose of administrative
organization is permissible.
2.High
school students may
assist their high school
coaches in providing instruction to middle level or
elementary schools following the regular season for
any three week period designated by the high school
principal.
3.Senior
athletes may work
with their coach after the
close of the sport season in
all sports except fall cheerleading, cross-country, and
winter track.
Coaches whose employment
by a school is limited to coaching duties shall be subject to
the same restrictions as regular
school employees with respect
to the Sport Season Policy.
Traditionally, fall cheering
squads in many schools have
been chosen in the spring in
order to allow the group to attend cheering camps during the
summer; this is a violation of
the Sport Season Policy. The
rationale is to allow all students
an opportunity to attend cheering camp to improve their skills
before tryouts rather than the
former, more restrictive practice which eliminates students
before such an opportunity.
Section 3
The principal of MPA member
schools is responsible to interpret both the meaning and intent of the Sport Season Policy
for the local school and is also
responsible for its enforcement.
Section 4
Violations reported under this
policy will be dealt with as
outlined in Article IV of the
MPA Bylaws. Violations of this
policy may result in sanctions
against the school; in no case
will violations of this policy affect a student’s eligibility.
Section 5
Waiver of the Sport
Season Policy
Requests for waivers of the
Sport Season Policy except
for end of summer recess may
be made to the Interscholastic
Management Committee and
must be written in advance of
the effective time of the activity
or date. The request for waivers
of the Sport Season Policy must
be made by the school principal. In no case shall the waiver
be for a period of time to exceed one season. (See form.)
Golf
Tip
of
the
Week
The art and science of finding lost
golf balls confessions of a ball hawk
This week we are covering
the lighter side of golf. This
article may not save you
any strokes off your game
but may save you $$ (Unless one of the balls you
find just happens to be the
ball you are currently playing). I think all of us have
fallen into one of these categories at one time or another.
The golf ball hawk - Any golfer
or caddie who has developed
a proven method for finding
“lost” golf balls.
There are three basic
types of golf ball hawks
There is the Casual golf
ball hawk. This is the most
common golf ball hawk, the
player that walks down the
sides of the fairways looking
for errant balls that have been
abandoned in the long rough,
or on the edge of the woods.
He doesn’t really put much into
it, but does take the circuitous
route to his ball to see what he
can find. The casual ball hawk
may carry a single golf ball
retriever and take a glance at
the various ponds and water
hazards as he walks by, going
after the any easy pickings he
can see. The casual ball hawk
usually doesn’t even take the
time to lift a branch or look under a shrub, but basically takes
the easy to find golf balls and
goes along his way. The casual
ball hawk is usually a good person to play with never holding
up play with his searches and
a great help in assisting others
searching for their errant shots.
The casual hawk also tends to
only keep the premium golf
balls that he plays and either
giving his other bounty to his
playing partners or donating
any economy golf balls to the
driving range.
Then there is the Piggy hawk.
He’ll have two or three different golf ball retrievers, including things that look like dredging equipment for skimming
wide paths through the muddier
water hazards where a golf ball
or two maybe hiding. You’ll
also notice a piggy ball hawks
golf bag, it has plenty of room
for found golf balls. The piggy
golf ball hawk stops at every
puddle along the way, makes a
pass or two with his dredging
equipment. Also if you’re looking for your ball in the rough or
woods, don’t really expect him
to find it, at least when you’re
there. He’ll come back later
at another time and pick it up.
The piggy ball hawk is the kind
that looks under every bush and
whenever there is a slight delay
in play, starts scrambling into
the woods looking under every
branch scouring the area constantly until play has resumed.
The piggy hawk also tends
to keep all the balls he finds
be they premium golf balls or
economy golf balls.
Only the good Lord knows
what he intends to do with
all those golf balls, pawing
through his dubious collection reveals not only the latest
and greatest golf balls, but golf
balls approaching vintage status as well.
Lastly there is the Master
golf ball hawk. While many
fall prey to the “piggy hawk”,
everyone falls prey to the master ball hawk. The master ball
hawk takes scientific approach
to his craft studying your game,
especially your errant shots.
The master hawk has rich
and long history that goes back
to the feathery golf ball. The
feathery golf ball was so expensive, that people would actually
MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11 • page 7
go out onto the golf course and
look for golf balls to resell. A
feathery golf ball by today’s
standards would probably cost
about $25.00, so you can imagine that this would be a highly
profitable activity. In fact ball
hawking was so lucrative that
oftentimes caddies would actually steal the balls that were
“lost” in the rough and them resell them to the players. There
was even stories of a caddy at
St. Andrews’ that had a trapdoor built into the bottom of
his boot so that when he came
across an errant shot that was
hit into the rough, he would
simply step on the ball with his
trapdoor boot, scoop the ball
into his hollow heal boot, 2-3
days later resell that ball to the
player for a nice little profit!
Today’s the master ball
hawk usually doesn’t resell
his golf balls. In some cases
they may resell their findings
to the local pro for 50 cents,
75 cents apiece, depending on
the quality and whether they
are economy, logo or premium
golf balls. Most master ball
hawks today do it strictly to
torment the other players in the
club. The master ball hawk of
today also knows the special
markings that individuals put
on their golf balls for identification purposes and this is how
he is able to torment the player
so easily as he returns them
with a grin saying “I think I’ve
found something that belongs
to you”! The other thing the
master ball hawk of today likes
to do is spread nasty rumors
of “...these golf balls belong
to John Smith. You couldn’t
possibly believe where I found
them. I hope he counted all his
penalty strokes”.
Here are a few
secrets and tricks
of the master
hawk you may
find
interesting.
• He knows when you’ve
been on the golf course, and
where to go to look for your
lost golf balls. He has made
a study of your game and
knows your tendencies so
when he asks “So how did
you play? Did you have any
troubles?” Be assured this
is not idle chit-chat or concern in anyway about your
game, he wants to know did
you lose any balls and if so
where!
• A little known secret of the
master ball hawk is if you’re
walking along the woods or
the rough, and you find a
golf ball in a spot where you
don’t think anyone could
ever hit a ball, look in a
circle 9 meters around that
ball, and the odds are you’re
going to find another ball.
• The master ball hawk
knows that a good supply of
inexpensive golf balls can
be found are found usually
170 to 180 yards off the tee,
on the right hand side, either
in the woods or the deep
rough.
• You may find a few premium golf balls also along the
right hand side, but they’ll
be more like 220 or more
yards out in the right rough.
You also may find a good
supply of premium golf balls
if you look at wooded areas
and rough areas around the
greens, especially long and
left.
• The master hawk knows
that the average golfer has
a new ball for 18 to 20 fill
swing strokes. This gives
him a keen edge on where
to start his focused searches.
• After charity type golf
tournaments a good place
to look for balls, is the tall
grass just in front of all the
tees, that have to be carried by the tee shots, these
can be prime early morning picking grounds for the
master ball hawk, especially
if the golf tournament was a
scramble.
• The master ball hawk never
carries a ball retriever in his
golf bag. You can bet he has
one though, along with the
other “special tools” in his
golf ball finding arsenal,
for his casual early morning strolls around the golf
course.
Your
connection
for local
sports.
Weekly Sports Shots
page 8 • MAINE SPORTS WEEKLY, VOL. 1, ISSUE 11