Jim Sperry took the George Stevens Academy boys soccer team to a place few believed possible this year. The Eagles played in the Class C state championship game.

GSA lost 11 seniors from last year’s team and Sperry said that many of the people he spoke to about the team going into the season had a wait-’til- next-year attitude before the Eagles had even played a game.

“The majority of the people doubted them. I was told they’ll do OK but wait a year or two, you’ve got some good players,” Sperry said.

Instead, the coach decided to play for the present. It resulted in a trip to Bath last Saturday and an encounter with North Yarmouth Academy that the Panthers won 6-2.

How did it all come together for the Eagles? Their coach eventually convinced them they could be a good team and not just a team waiting for something good to happen to them.

Sperry wanted his team to play an attacking style, but initially faced reluctance to change.

“The kids didn’t buy into it at first. For the first four games, they kept wanting to revert back to what they had done and play in a defensive posture,” Sperry said.

Sperry learned his soccer while serving in the U.S. Navy. He played against talented teams, often suffering through bad defeats to learn more about the game.

He also attended coaching clinics that provided insight into the differing styles of play.

“I had the opportunity while I was overseas to go to a couple of German coaching clinics and an Italian coaching clinic,” Sperry said.

He also played against semi-professional teams and against teams such as the French navy team.

“The major difference between us and them was the type of soccer that was being played. The quality of play. They had much more passing. Much more control. You see it in the difference between the MLS and the World Cup teams. Passing and control. Possession and quality,” Sperry explained.

Sperry retired from the Navy in 1995. He now lives in Franklin were he is a training consultant for a software company. He also does landscaping.

The 76-mile round trip he made to practices and games paid off when his players finally came around to his way of thinking.

“They really got much more comfortable with me. That no matter what was going on on the field, I wasn’t concerned about the score. I was concerned about what they were doing. After that they bonded,” Sperry said.

The Eagles responded and reached the state championship game with a 12-3-2 record and as Eastern Maine’s third seed.

Ellis, Frost honored nationally

Calais High School golf coach Mike Ellis and one of his prized pupils, James Frost, have been recognized by the National High School Coaches Association.

Ellis has been named the boys golf coach of the year for 2002 while Frost was honored as the organization’s boys golf athlete of the year for 2002.

Ellis was recognized for his team’s back-to-back Class C state titles and for having coached three consecutive individual state titlists.

In his six years, Ellis has amassed a 124-5 record. He attributes much of his success to the work his father does as the pro at St. Croix Country Club.

“They have a great youth and feeder program,” Ellis said. “We get the kids interested at a young age there. There have been five state champions out of that course and two team state champs.”

Frost was cited for his three individual and two team state championships in Class C.

“Athletes like James Frost are among the success stories produced in high school athletics today,” NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. “He has worked extremely hard to develop his skills and has become on of the best golfers not only in the state of Maine but the entire nation and we are proud to be honoring him.”

Frost graduated from Calais in 2001 and attends Mississippi State University.