2 field hockey coaches open season with newborns

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The Orono and John Bapst field hockey teams had a scrimmage set for the preseason, but it didn’t quite go off as planned.

The two teams did play – but Red Riots coach Samantha Runco and Crusaders coach Gina Schuck were figuring they’d both be pregnant at the same time because they were due just days apart.

Things didn’t exactly work out as planned. Runco went early and gave birth to son Thomas about three weeks ago while Schuck had her son, Timothy Jack – Schuck and her husband Tim will call the baby Jack – on Tuesday.

Gina Schuck is hoping to be back on the sidelines for Friday’s game against Old Town. That means she’ll miss just three days of the season.

But Schuck is an old hat at dealing with babies during the field hockey season. She had her first, Peter, about 11/2 weeks into the 2003 season.

Now 2, Peter loves to go to field hockey games.

“He talks about it all the time,” Schuck said.

Jack is the fourth son for Tim Schuck – he has two older boys – and the realization that Gina Schuck won’t likely have a field hockey player in the family has started to sink in. She’ll just have to find other ways to stay involved in her sons’ athletic pursuits.

“We won’t have a girl to teach the game to, but the thing is when it comes time for Little League, I’ll still be his coach,” she said.

Bapst junior varsity coach Andrea Lee will take over for a few days, with assistance from injured player Ashley Freeman, who was to serve as a player-coach during Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Brewer.

Runco missed just four days of the preseason, during which time former Old Town coach Dodi Saucier and Orono assistant Megan Chamberlain worked with the Red Riots.

“I have to admit, it was a transition for me and for the team to be there then gone,” said Runco, whose husband, Nicholas, cradled their son during a 3-0 loss at Hampden Academy last week.

“I love field hockey, I love being here, and I want to coach this team more than anything,” she said.

Runco credited Saucier and Chamberlain with helping to keep the team on track.

“They did an amazing job,” Runco said. “It’s [Chamberlain’s] first year coaching. [Her help] was definitely the reason the team was able to make the shift between Dodi and me.”

Vikings plan Katrina fund-raiser

The Searsport cross country team will run a 24-hour relay to raise funds to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which ripped through the Gulf Coast two weeks ago.

The relay will take place starting at 7 a.m. on Sept. 24. The cross country team, which is coached by Mike Vasiliauskas, and family members will run the relay around Searsport’s athletic field.

The money raised will go to the American Red Cross.

To sponsor the relay or to donate, contact Vasiliauskas at mvasiliauskas@verizon.net or 548-2311.

Ciao, Dutch Soccer Academy!

The Limestone-based Dutch Soccer Academy is heading back to Europe, this time to Italy.

First, though, the teams have to picked. Coach and DSA director Robbie Krul will be holding two tryouts for boys and girls who are at least 14 years old.

The first tryout will be held Sunday at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle. The tryout will run from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

The second tryout will be held Sept. 25 at a location in the Bangor area. That location has yet to be determined, but interested players can go to www.dutchsocceracademy.com for more information soon. The set tryout time is 1-2:45 p.m.

The fee for the tryout is $10.

College-age players are eligible. The DSA will take both boys and girls teams.

In past years Krul has taken DSA players to England and the Netherlands, of which he is a native.

The DSA trip wings to southern Europe April 13-21 with stops in Venice, Milan, and the Lake Como area, where the teams will play in a youth tournament, the Como Lake Cup.

The trip cost is $2,500 per person and includes round-trip airfare, six nights in a hotel, breakfast and dinner, tour stops such as soccer stadiums and a museum, tournament registration, possibly tickets to a professional match, and a uniform.

The itinerary tentatively includes a side trip to Switzerland.

For more information call 492-1147 or go to the DSA Web site listed above.