Graffam taking Lee postgrad job Waldoboro native to coach Pandas

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Waldoboro native Jim Graffam, who has spent the last three years coaching men’s basketball and baseball at the College of St. Joseph in Rutland, Vt., is returning to his home state to coach the postgraduate basketball team at Lee Academy.

Graffam, who is staying in Vermont this spring to coach the CSJ baseball team, guided that school’s basketball team to the Sunrise Conference championship and a berth in the NAIA Division II National Tournament this winter.

Before taking the CSJ job, Graffam’s college coaching stops had included Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, Westbrook College in Portland, the University of Maine at Fort Kent, and Green Mountain College in Vermont.

“I’ve banged around a lot in my career,” said Graffam, “and I’ve gone back and forth between being a basketball coach and a baseball coach, but something I’ve always wanted to do is to coach scholarship athletes, and I think Lee is the right place at the right time for me.”

At Lee, Graffam will become the postgraduate basketball team’s third coach in four years. Brian McDormand got the program off the ground, and Carl Parker guided the Pandas the last two seasons before stepping down last month.

“Obviously Jim has a lot of experience at the college level that really lends itself to this type of position,” saaid Lee headmaster Bruce Lindberg. “He understands the academic expectations we have, and he also has an understanding of NCAA rules. He’s a really good fit for us.”

While coaching basketball at the College of St. Joseph, Graffam saw Lee Academy play several times as he scouted various prep programs from throughout the Northeast.

“It’s a different challenge, obviously, to be dealing with players with aspirations to go on beyond college,” said Graffam. “For once I’ll be working with kids who have the same mind-set I do. I’ve loved all my teams, but most of the kids have not been scholarship players, they’ve played for the love of the game.

“There’s something pristine about that that I love, but I’m looking forward to coaching players with the type of aspirations they have to have by coming to Lee Academy.”

Graffam concludes his coaching duties in Vermont at the end of June, but in the meantime is working with Lindberg and Parker on developing a postgraduate team for next winter.

At Limestone, a ‘normal’ spring

Most Aroostook County schools are still in a holding pattern for hosting baseball and softball games, the result of record-setting snowfall that’s been somewhat slow to melt away.

But not Limestone/Maine School of Science of Mathematics.

The Eagles were practicing on at least a part of their home field last week, and expect to play their home opener as scheduled against Fort Kent on Friday.

“We used a snow blower on the field,” said interim athletic administrator Wade McLaughlin. “The giant snow blower they used on the streets we had on the field a month ago.”

There were subsequent snowstorms, but with the winter-long base of snow pack already removed and the field’s location in a windy setting on top of a hill, the melting process on that late snowfall was much quicker.

“I guarantee you we’re two weeks ahead of everybody else around here at least,” McLaughlin said.

Of course, areas around the field don’t look quite as spring-like as the field itself.

“The path to the field is surrounded by snowbanks on both sides that are about 31/2 feet high,” said McLaughlin.

The Eagles hosted Ashland in a “practice scrimmage” last Thursday, and spent the beginning of this week in Portland. Limestone is scheduled to play its regular-season opener on its way home Wednesday in a 10 a.m. contest against Vinalhaven at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.

Indians optimistic after opener

The Skowhegan baseball team got off to a slow offensive start in its season opener, managing just one hit off Bangor righthander Ian Edwards in a 4-0 loss to the Rams at Mansfield Stadium on Monday.

But coach Rick York is optimistic not only that his team’s offense will come around, but that the Indians will be a competitive team throughout the season.

“I think the hitting will come along,” said York. “We’re not going to face Ian Edwards every day, so hitting-wise I think we’ll have one of the better hitting teams.”

Skowhegan has been ousted by Bangor in postseason play each of the last two years, in the quarterfinals last spring and in the Eastern Maine Class A championship game in 2006.

This year’s club is led by three players with experience from both of those games catcher Les Marcue, infielder Jonathan Wheaton and outfielder Andy Calder, all four-year starters.

In fact, nearly the entire starting lineup is back from a year ago, including a pitching staff that includes juniors Cody Vigue and Cody Williamson and senior Devin Sylvain.

“I like our chances, but we’ve got a lot a work to do because the league is pretty even,” said York, whose team plays its home opener against Nokomis of Newport on Wednesday. “Each game’s going to be big, because there’s a lot of teams that are going to knock off each other.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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