The University of Maine’s baseball season may have ended on a negative note with two straight losses in its league tourney, but the program did show some signs of resurgence under first-year coach Paul Kostacopoulos.

Kostacopoulos arrived at Maine under the difficult circumstances of replacing longtime coach John Winkin, who did not want to give up his job after directing the program to success and national respectability. However, Winkin lost touch with today’s changing ballplayers while his methods in his final seasons were merely keeping Maine competitive instead of successful.

With high degrees of aggressiveness, intensity, and realism, Kostacopoulos has managed to put his own stamp on the UMaine program. He inherited a team with a few good hitters, a solid but unspectacular defense, and weak pitching but still guided the Bears to a second-place finish in America East’s regular season.

The Black Bears under Kostacopoulos showed a renewed sense of confidence and did not appear as tenuous at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the field. His coaching style helped his players produce.

Kostacopoulos was also able to get fine efforts from his two assistant coaches, Jay Kemble and Mike Coutts. This situation could have been a potentially volatile one, but the new coach handled the transition like a seasoned diplomat as did Kemble and Coutts, both former Winkin assistants who had also sought the head coaching job.

While dealing with all the changes, Kostacopoulos displayed a refreshing sense of candor with the media. He didn’t rely on tired cliches and spoke frankly of his team.

Overall, the program has experienced a smooth transition under its new coach. In the seasons ahead, more improvement should be possible as Kostacopoulos starts bringing in his own recruits and Maine seeks once again to be one of the best programs in the Northeast while regaining its national respectability.

– Joe McLaughlin, BDN

It is time to get the gloves out of the closet and take to the fields once again; we have a thaw!

This is such a trying time of year, mud, cold, black flies….

It’s been hard enough on a child if she/he doesn’t make the team when another child’s skills are markedly better. It’s even harder still when coaches choreograph the team in order to adhere to their particular ideologies.

To assure that all children are treated fairly and that all taxpayers interest are served, all towns, cities and schools should set standards and be responsible for quality assurance. If standards are not met, the taxpayers should take action to make sure that these programs are not funded.

Little things like notifying parents five business days prior to tryouts or a social event. Assuring that records are kept, that town and city officials critique the quality and effectiveness of every program that falls within their domain. Setting rules and guidelines for paid and volunteer staff. Assuring that all children, whether they be male or female, religious or secular, are equally served and that all children develop to their fullest potential without fear of fabricated barriers placed before them.

Volunteer coaches need to be actively solicited in the media so that we can avoid having a bunch of cronies manipulating and monopolizing our programs. Everyone needs to be given a chance to volunteer.

It’s heartbreaking to see a child be cut from a program because she/he has the wrong last name or wears the wrong label or doesn’t belong to the right church.

The public ball fields are just that, public, taxpayer funded.

Set standards for behavior, consequences for misbehavior, and play ball!

– Cleo Malo, Exeter

Readers may submit “Sounding Off” comments to the Bangor Daily News’ Sports Desk at P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329. Our fax number is (207) 990-8092. All comments will be edited for accuracy, clarity, content, and taste. Letters must be signed and include an address and telephone number.