Hampden baseball, softball fields to be lit Bucksport, Foxcroft name new coaches

HAMPDEN – A recent donation of $130,000 from an anonymous benefactor is expected to bring night baseball and softball activities to the Weatherbee School athletic complex.

The donation, accepted recently by the local school board, will provide for installing lights at the Bordick Park baseball facility, as well as additional lights at the adjacent multipurpose field that will allow for night softball practices and games.

The multipurpose field already has lights for football, soccer and other sports, but where the softball diamond is located at one end of the artificial surface currently is insufficiently lighted for night games or practices in that sport.

In addition, the donation provides funds for the installation of bathrooms in the concession building at the complex. Until now portable restrooms have been utilized.

“It’s a great gift,” said superintendent of schools Rick Lyons.

Work on the project is expected to begin in early July, said Lyons, who added that assistant superintendent Emil Genest has been working with town officials to secure the necessary permits for the project.

Currently Bordick Park serves the high school’s varsity and junior varsity baseball teams as well as the middle school “A” team during spring.

Without lights, that often creates a crunch for sufficient practice and game time for all the teams, particularly early in the season when the days are shorter.

There also are plans to add a middle school “B” team next spring, which would cause additional scheduling problems without the presence of lights at the field, though Lyons said another field near Reeds Brook Middle School recently has been refurbished.

Demand for the field also is high during the summer, with Junior League, Senior League and American Legion teams all using the facility.

“Wearing my baseball coach’s cap, this will be a huge benefit,” said Hampden Academy athletic administrator and varsity baseball coach David Shapiro.

Bennett takes Bucks’ hoop post

Jason Bennett, the girls junior varsity basketball coach at Bucksport High for the last six years, was appointed as the Golden Bucks’ new boys varsity basketball coach by the local school board on Wednesday night.

Bennett, a 1990 Bucksport graduate, replaces Mike Cowing, who resigned shortly before the end of last season after nearly two years on the job.

“I have a lot of confidence in Jason,” said Bucksport athletic administrator Brendan Harvey, also the Golden Bucks’ varsity girls basketball coach. “I’ve seen him work with the girls in our program for the last six years, and he’s very knowledgeable about the game.

“I’m very happy he applied for the job, but at the same time I hate to see him leave my girls’ program.”

Bennett, a lifelong Bucksport resident who operates his own painting business, understands he has a rebuilding job with the Bucksport boys team, which finished 3-15 last winter.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “The last couple of years have been a struggle, but I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge of going out and being competitive.”

Hodgkinson to lead FA soccer

Glenn Hodgkinson, a native Englander who now lives in Parkman, was named the new boys varsity soccer coach at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft this week.

Hodgkinson replaces Luis Ayala, who coached the Ponies for the last six years. Ayala will remain the school’s head wrestling coach, according to Foxcroft athletic administrator Tim Smith.

Hodgkinson, 30, moved to Maine two years ago with his wife, a Harmony native, from Stoke-on-Trent, a city of approximately 270,000 in central England known for its pottery manufacturing.

This marks his first coaching job, but Hodgkinson does have considerable playing experience from his days in England.

Hodgkinson originally accepted a similar coaching post at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, but Foxcroft had a computer teaching position open as well as its soccer post, and he ultimately accepted both jobs.

Hodgkinson knows he faces a significant challenge in guiding the Foxcroft program, which plays in the shadow of the school’s highly successful football team. The Ponies’ soccer team finished 1-11-2 last fall.

“I know a lot of the top athletes play football,” said Hodgkinson. “I’m hoping the people who do turn out for soccer are really passionate about the sport.”

Hodgkinson plans to stress skill development at Foxcroft, and in that regard hopes to conduct a summer camp at the school after he recovers from recent foot surgery.