As far as first days go, it could’ve gone smoother.

In what was probably one of the earliest fall sports preseason practices in Eastern Maine, the Hampden field hockey team started at 7 a.m. Monday on its field.

Then at 7:30, they moved to the football practice field. Fifteen minutes later, they were on the baseball outfield to finish the two-hour session.

Twentieth-year coach Ruth Fitzpatrick and her team arrived at their field inside the Hampden Academy track to find that the debris remained from Sunday night’s fireworks celebrating Children’s Day.

After running around the track, doing some sprints and stretching on the paved high jump area, team members were moved by Fitzpatrick to the football field because of the burned scraps.

Then, figuring the football team would show up no sooner than she could lay out the Hampden purple and orange cones for eight drill sites, Fitzpatrick and the team headed for the adjoining outfield after more sprints on the gridders’ practice area.

But the moving wasn’t a big deal, particularly after volunteers arrived during the practice to clean up the Broncos field hockey field. The big deal was the hour chosen by the team to begin practice.

“We had a team meeting and [Fitzpatrick] said `OK, who wants it at eight?’ and three of us raised our hands,” senior Carolyn Roderick said. “And everyone else was like SEVEN!”

“I really didn’t want it this early but I like it now that we’re here,” she said. “It’s nine o’clock and it’s not even hot and we’re over.”

Added Sam Brann, “And the two-mile run won’t be as hot as it was last year. It was so hot by the time we finished, we were just like `uhhh.’ ”

Monday was the first official day of practice for fall sports athletes but Wednesday will have to suffice for Orono’s Matt Pare.

After weightlifting and running all summer, the senior was ready to make a run at a varsity spot until last Tuesday.

“I was mowing the lawn and I was going over an old garden and the ground was kind of uneven,” the tight end/defensive end said. “I kept pushing the lawnmower up and it came down on my foot.”

A quick trip to the hospital revealed Pare is a very lucky person. The wound above the big toe on his right foot required seven stitches, which were to be removed Tuesday, and he could be allowed to practice as early as today.

“It’s going to be tough bouncing back,” said Pare, who realizes how lucky he was. “I’m hoping I can still punt, that’s a thought that’s been going through my mind.

“It’s not supposed to if you do it correctly,” he said. “If you screw it up a little bit, it can get banged up.”

Aroostook County’s Harvest Break usually complicates the fall sports scheduling.

Throw in a trip to Europe involving 12 athletes who don’t want to miss a game, and it becomes much tougher.

That’s what former Presque Isle Athletic Director Jeff Bearden ran into before stepping into the assistant principal’s job this fall.

Bearden, and current AD Eric Waddell, will be among those accompanying 43 Presque Isle High School students on an 11-day trip to Spain and France in the midst of the annual three-week break.

Harvest Break begins Friday, Sept. 20, and goes through Columbus Day weekend. Schools reconvene Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Bearden managed to juggle the boys and girls soccer schedules so the Wildcats athletes wouldn’t miss a game while on their trip, which begins Thursday, Sept. 26.

“We were able to work it out and the other schools were awfully good because that’s about a two-week period where we can’t play any games,” Bearden said. “We didn’t want to hurt the soccer programs or the kids.”

The only thing left for Waddell to do is try to convince Brewer to trade home games.

Brewer hosts both Presque Isle teams Sept. 25, meaning the Wildcats likely wouldn’t get home until midnight and get up the next day at 5 a.m. for the trip to Boston.