It’s just an iron skeleton amidst a mass of snow right now, but in about a year the construction next to the Vinalhaven School will be a new school for students who live on the Penobscot Bay island.

Coaches and student-athletes are especially excited about the new gymnasium. It’ll be a big improvement over what the Vikings have now in the old school, although it probably won’t replace the charm and memories of the old gym, which is about 30 years old.

The new school is expected to be ready in December, although construction may be a little behind at this point.

The new gym will have seating for about 450 (the old gym seats about 150 for basketball games), and six basketball hoops instead of two. It will have a wider area around the court compared to the old gym where spectators seated in the front row can’t extend their legs because their feet will be on the basketball court. Teams will also have a place to sit instead of being on the stage at the old gym. The court itself will also be larger and the ceilings will be higher.

“We’re really excited to have the new bleachers and the high ceilings,” said sophomore Ken Spaulding, who plays for the boys basketball team.

Girls basketball coach Torry Pratt is excited about the increase in basketball hoops.

“That’s the biggest thing,” said Pratt, a 1978 Vinalhaven graduate who played her high school ball in the current gym. “It’s so hard today to run a practice with just two baskets when you have 12 kids. You can’t really run a lot of things. But with six baskets you work on individual shooting and do so much more in practice.”

The new gym may seem a bit sterile next to the old gym. The Vinalhaven kids are certainly proud to play where former Vikings star Raymond Alley played his high school basketball before starring at Husson College in Bangor, and there’s a charm to the wooden gym ceiling, which with its arches looks like the inside of a boat.

“It’s kind of a privilege to play here,” Spaulding said. “I was saying earlier, it’s kind of like the ark. When the island sinks, it’s going to flip over and we’re all going to sail away.”

Vikings shine despite roster losses

Herman Paul always believed in his Searsport girls basketball team, but with last year’s top two scorers and rebounders not on the team anymore, some early in the season may not have been sold on the team.

But with Searsport at 10-2, the Vikings have become a top team in Class C. The Vikings’ wins include the only victory any team has over Dexter this year, and their two losses came against defending Class B state champion Mount Desert Island and George Stevens of Blue Hill.

Searsport lost Andrea Blanchard, who took her game down Route 1 to Camden Hills, and Jessica Larrabee, who decided not to play basketball this year. Blanchard, a 5-9 guard, was the top scorer last year.

But Paul knew what he had on the bench behind his two departed standouts.

“These kids can play,” Paul said after Searsport’s 72-32 victory over Bangor Christian Tuesday night. “There were great players sitting behind a very good player [Blanchard]. Jessie Plourde, Holly Gracie, Brittany Smith, they were just never given the shots or the opportunity last year. They were just waiting. It was horrible to lose Andrea, but I knew we had great players who would step up.”

The Vikings were eager to show what they could do.

“We wanted to show everybody else that we weren’t just a one-person team, that everybody else could do good,” said Plourde, a junior. “This season we’ve had four people in double digits, so obviously we can play as a team.”

The victory over Dexter gave Searsport a big boost in both morale and Heal points, although the Vikings are third behind undefeated Calais and 13-1 Dexter in the Class C Southeast standings.

“I think we may be a step behind the Penquises and Dexters and Calaises, but we’re coming together,” Paul said. “I don’t think anyone wants to play us right now, but we are a bit behind them. Dexter is destroying teams right now and they deserve to be ranked ahead of us.”