Brewer is proud of Coffin Field, coaches

Recently, the BDN published two letters criticizing Brewer’s Coffin Field as a venue for the Class B softball championships. The first was from a Bucksport fan, the second from a Brewer resident apologizing and reminding readers such complaints would not have occurred prior to 2006. We would like to set the record straight on this matter.

The city of Brewer is justifiably proud of Coffin Field. It is widely recognized as one of the finest softball fields in Maine. Since all state championships are sponsored by the Maine Principals’ Association we contacted that association to solicit their feedback concerning the quality of our facility. Mr. Jeff Sturgis, assistant executive director of the MPA assured us that Coffin Field is an excellent venue for a softball championship.

To quote Mr. Sturgis, “Brewer runs a class operation; that is why Eastern Maine teams look forward to playing on your field.”

As an aside, he noted that admission is set by the MPA (Brewer High School gets no portion of this revenue). He stressed that anyone having a question about price for admission to championship games should contact the MPA directly for a complete explanation.

Thanks to the help of our athletic director, coaches and the support of many volunteers, Coffin Field is a top ranked high school softball field. It is true that Mansfield Stadium is an excellent venue with ample seating but Coffin Field is one of the best softball fields in Eastern Maine.

Please know that we recognize the first letter is from a single Bucksport resident and not the Bucksport community in general. Brewer athletics has always valued its relationship with Bucksport as Bucksport High School is well respected for its competitive athletic program and good-natured fans.

Additionally, we regret that the second writer used the first letter as an opportunity to unfairly criticize our coaches. The coaching staff we hired this past spring is extremely talented. Their knowledge of the sport is extensive and their excellent reputation is widely recognized.

We are tremendously proud of our softball coaches, athletes, parents, volunteers and fans. The Brewer softball team played extremely well this past year; hats off to them all.

We look forward to hosting softball championships next year and we will continue to do our utmost to make the experience a positive one for area athletes and fans.

Mark Farley, Mark Chambers, Ruth Spellman, Cal Bubar, Amanda Bost

Brewer School Committee

Daniel Lee

Superintendent of Schools

An incredible debacle

With all due respect to our great homegrown sportswriter, Gary Thorne, it was not the 2002 All-Star game which was “incredulous.”

It was we who were incredulous; the debacle was “incredible.”

Dan Lourie

Bar Harbor