There will be a number of key changes to the fall coaching staff at Hampden Academy in the upcoming school year.

Hampden has hired Kurt Mathies to take over the successful girls soccer program, but it will lose football coach Mike Corneil this fall to another teaching job this fall.

The girls head basketball position for the winter, however, seems to be in a bit of turmoil.

Current girls basketball coach Mike Webb said he’s been asked to resign by superintendent Rick Lyons. Webb has not done so yet.

“I’ve been asked [to resign] but I’m not going to,” Webb said.

Webb said he does not know why Lyons wants him to resign. Athletic director Tim Reed and principal Katie Donovan have each given him two positive recommendations, Webb said.

Lyons said he can not comment on personnel matters.

“If Mike wants to come out and say something that’s fine for him,” Lyons said. “I’m bound by law [from discussing personnel issues].”

Webb likely won’t get a chance to be considered by the school board because Lyons makes referrals to the SAD 22 board of directors’ athletic committee. From there the recommendations go on to the full board of directors.

The athletic committee met Monday night. Lyons said the committee discussed appointments for more than 35 middle school and high school coaches for fall and winter sports, including a recommendation for the football coach.

Webb, a longtime basketball referee, has coached the Hampden girls for two seasons. The Broncos have gone 31-11 in that stretch, including quarterfinal wins in the Eastern Maine Class A tournament both seasons.

Corneil had been the head coach for just one year after spending 11 with the Hampden program in assistant and freshman coaching positions.

Corneil, who was a math teacher at Hampden for 16 years, has moved over to a similar position at Bangor High.

“Part of it is an opportunity for me to slow down a bit,” Corneil said. “And I get back to [concentrating on] teaching. … [Going to Bangor High] is a big step. It’s a much bigger school.”

Corneil will continue to officiate basketball in the winter and softball in the spring.

The football season begins in about 11/2 months. Before he made the decision to leave Hampden a few weeks ago he felt that the Broncos could be a kind of sleeper this fall because they lost a lot of seniors but have some experienced underclassmen who may be better prepared for the season.

“We got a strength and conditioning coach to work with the kids [at the end of last season] and we had 15-20 kids who were really committed,” Corneil said.

Hampden athletic director Tim Reed said the school hired Mathies this summer.

Mathies, who has served as an assistant soccer coach, will take over the program this fall. He replaces Mark Franchi, who moved out of the state after the 2001 season ended.

Mathies is the Hampden recreation director and a graduate of Nokomis High in Newport. He played soccer for Nokomis and UM-Presque Isle.

Mathies will take over a fully stocked program that has been very successful over the years. The Broncos went 17-1 and made it to the Eastern Maine Class A final last fall.

Warriors’ defense triple trouble

For many high school softball teams, a triple play is a rare thing.

But two in one season? Now that’s really something.

It was for the Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook softball team, which logged two of the defensive plays this year despite struggling with numbers and experience.

In his eight years coaching, Warriors coach Jon Porter has never had one triple play in a season, let alone two.

“With a 4-13 season there’s not much positive to say, but at the team banquet that’s one of the first things we talked about,” Porter said.

The first triple play occurred during a game against Hodgdon and was the more unusual of the two.

A Hodgdon player hit a line drive to the Southern Aroostook pitcher, who caught the ball. The baserunners started from their bases when the pitcher flipped the ball to the catcher, who tagged out a runner coming from third base. The catcher threw to the first baseman, who tagged a runner who had been at first. And so it was a 1-2-3 triple play.

“I was pretty surprised,” Porter said. “I’d never seen [a triple play] before.”

The second, against Fort Fairfield, was a bit more conventional. With the bases loaded, the Warrior third baseman knocked down a line drive and tagged out the runner at third. The ball tipped out of her glove, was picked up by the shortstop, who threw to the second baseman at second for the second out. The second baseman threw to first for the final out in the 5-6-4-3 play.

The two TPs were certainly a bright spot for the Warriors this year. After opening the season 4-0, Southern Aroostook lost its starting pitcher, Holly Toothaker, when she tore an already tender anterior cruciate ligament while running the bases in a game. Then, first baseman Brandi Crandall broke her foot. Porter was forced to move players from established defensive positions and had to develop a new pitcher, too.

Eventually, he turned senior outfielder Michelle Boutilier into his pitcher. At the end of the season she was named to the Maine High School Softball Coaches Association senior all-star team.

Pole vault dimensions change

In an effort to minimize risk in the pole vaulting competition, the National Federation of State High School Associations’ track and field rules committee came up with some rules changes at its annual meeting June 10-11.

The track and field committee made more than 20 rules changes during the meeting.

For pole vault, the most important change is in Rule 7-4-8, which increases the size of the pit. The landing pad, measured beyond the vertical plane of the planting box, should be a minimum of 19-feet-8 wide by 16-5 feet deep, and should be made of material that will decelerate the landing of the athlete.

If the pad is made up of two or more sections, the landing surface must be covered with a common pad that will extend over all sections. This minimizes the risk of the seams becoming hazardous to the vaulters.

This change in the landing pad dimension is effective immediately, which would include the 2002-03 indoor season and 2003 outdoor season.

The Maine Principals Association, which governs high school sports in the state, follows NFHS rules.

To see the rest of the rules changes and adjustments, go to the MPA web site (www.mpa.cc) and click on Late Breaking News, then click on the line for information about the pole vault and NFHS track rules changes.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.