Cheryl Stokes, president of the Atlantic Sports Group that brought the Maine Tide and Maine Sting soccer teams to Bangor this past spring and summer, said the teams will be back next year and she has already started preparing for it.

The Tide, the women’s team, went 4-6-2 in the Women’s Premier Soccer League and the Sting men’s team went 0-5-4 in the National Premier Soccer League.

Stokes said the franchise lost money but she took it in stride.

“That’s OK. It was year one. It gave us a base to go from and to work up to. I think it was basically [caused by] a lack of awareness that we were here,” said Stokes, who has already begun soliciting sponsorships.

“In summary, despite losing money, I was very happy with the season. I was happy with the product. We were competitive in every game. I was happy with [Boucher Field] and the response from people who did attend the games. I’m positive about moving forward,” said Stokes.

“Our main objective now is to get the word out and work on the fan base for next year,” said Stokes. “We had some great walkup crowds, but not everybody knew we were here. We want to let everybody know we’re here. We provide family entertainment, we’re family friendly and it isn’t expensive.”

They averaged 100-125 per game, all walkup, she said. No season tickets were sold.

The teams had a close working relationship with three youth organizations: Black Bear United, the Bangor Soccer Club and the Winslow-based Maine Terriers.

She noted that the weather didn’t cooperate and the longtime Atlanta resident said she learned a valuable lesson.

“We scheduled most of our home games early in the season (May and June). Next year, I’m going to try to schedule them toward the end of the season,” said Stokes.

One way she hopes to create more of a bond between the team and the community is by “recruiting more local players so that [youth players] can see and talk to them throughout the offseason. I’d like to see our players work with youth clubs and talk to them about nutrition and fitness. I want [youngsters] to have someone to look up to. I want them to aspire to play at this level. There’s a lot of quality soccer in the state of Maine. We need to harness it.”

She said her players were very responsive in running the free clinics this season.

She will address the job and transportation issues that caused several players to leave.

“We spoke to area businesses before the season and we felt there would be plenty of jobs available. But when the spring arrived, that wasn’t necessarily the case,” said Stokes. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It was just the way it was.”

She was pleased that they were able to house the players in the same complex, Orchard Trails, near the University of Maine campus in Orono, but the team practiced and played in Bangor and there weren’t many players with vehicles.

“It was a great facility. There aren’t a lot of places available that can house 50 players. And it’s great for the team to spend their off time together and build camaraderie. There was public transportation, but it wasn’t enough. The situation is very solvable. We need to get the players back and forth [more efficiently],” said Stokes.

She said it is imperative to have the jobs, housing and transportation issues taken care of well in advance of the season next year.

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

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