Although the competitive level of the top teams in American Legion Baseball’s Zone 1 has never really been in doubt, its popularity appears to be in the midst of revitalization as more and more high school age players are interested in playing summer ball.

Perhaps the reality of the age-old mantra of veteran high school and Legion coaches is finally sinking in: If you want to be successful in varsity ball, you need to play summer ball.

The best and most recent example of the truth in that statement comes from the recent success enjoyed by Waterville High School, which won its first Eastern Maine championship this spring after two straight successful summer seasons in which the bulk of the Waterville players helped lead their Waterville Legion team to the state tournament.

“Really, the feeling I always had while coaching during the summer is if you were in high school, it certainly was in your best interest to be involved in summer ball as well,” said Zone 1 commissioner and former coach Dave Paul. “I mean face it, in Maine, the best time of the year for baseball is summertime.

“The teams that have been successful yearly, like Bucksport, Old Town and Deering, the majority of their key players are playing Legion baseball in the summertime. That’s not a coincidence.”

Now other areas are hoping to cash in with that winning formula. The latest is Corinna, where the local American Legion post (No. 73) encouraged the local baseball brain trust to field a team this summer.

“We had six or seven kids from the area play ball last summer, but we had thought we’d keep playing with Hermon this year,” said Nokomis High School and former Hermon Legion coach Gene Crockett. “But when we were approached with financial backing from the local Legion post, it really kind of accelerated our timetable.”

As a result, Zone 1 gained a new member this season to bring the league membership to eight. The Sebasticook Storm will make their debut at Trenton Tuesday night as Zone 1 kicks off its regular season schedule, which goes from 18 to 21 games with the additional team.

This marks the first time since 1991 that the area has had a Legion team. Back then, it was based in Pittsfield and Crockett was a player, not a coach.

“We draw our kids from Nokomis and Maine Central Institute,” said Crockett, who will coach the red- and black-clad Storm this season. “We had 21 kids try out for 18 spots, but I think given the fact that most of the players are young and neither high school team had real strong seasons, it’s going to be a learning year.

“We’ll be competitive, but I’m not sure we’ll have what it takes to get over the top and win a lot of games.”

Crockett expects the Storm to be strong defensively, but weak offensively. Pitching is currently a question mark.

“We only have four guys who have a lot of experience, but that was another reason for getting a team is to give these young kids some experience,” Crockett said. “There’s no question if you don’t play in the summer, it’s awful hard for your high school team to be competitive.”

Crockett is joined on the coaching staff by Jason Tardy and longtime umpire George Phelps.

Key players include Nokomis shortstop-relief pitcher Shawn Henderson, who will attend Husson College this fall, and Nokomis lefthanded pitcher Justin Veazie, as well as outfielder-closer Tom Twombly and first baseman-pitcher Steve Kennedy from MCI.

The other Zone 1 teams – Bangor, Brewer, Calais, Orono, Penquis, Trenton, and Waldo – will play regular season games primarily on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through July 23, with the zone tournament running from July 27-31 at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor. The State American Legion Baseball Tournament is Aug. 4-8 at Mansfield.