It’s been a slow start to the season for the Madawaska girls soccer team.

First, the rain that has plagued the state this summer has been bad for fields at the school at the tip of northern Maine.

Second, just as the soccer season is getting under way, longtime coach Ed Marshall couldn’t take his team on its annual trip to southern Maine because of a death in his family.

“But we’ll get a fresh start tonight,” Marshall said Monday afternoon, minutes before leaving for the Owls’ first practice of the fall season. “It’s hard to believe [the season is opening so soon].”

Madawaska is one of the Aroostook County schools that starts the season early because of the potato harvest in September. Teams begin practice and play in August – while most student-athletes are enjoying a last few weeks of freedom – and then take about a month-long break to help local farmers with the harvest.

The Aroostook County game schedule starts in earnest Friday, Aug. 13. The rest of the state can start practices Aug. 16 and games after 3 p.m. on Sept. 4.

In recent years Ashland, Katahdin of Stacyville and Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook have not taken harvest breaks.

Marshall, who also serves as the Madawaska athletic director, said the rainy summer has been bad for the school’s fields.

“It’s been an awful summer,” he said. “We’ve been trying to work on them in the last three days but it just poured [Sunday]. The fields are just dead.”

The Owls, traditionally one of the top teams in Eastern Maine Class C, were scheduled to take a trip this past weekend to the southern Maine for a tournament against strong Class A teams like Mount Ararat of Topsham, Brunswick and Cape Elizabeth.

But Marshall’s mother-in-law Marilyn Worcester died Tuesday, which scrapped the trip.

“It was hard to break it to them,” he said. “We were going to go tenting on a lake and the girls were really looking forward to it. They were disappointed but when I told them what happened they understood. That’s the way life is.”

The Owls will participate in Presque Isle’s round robin tournament, which also features the host Wildcats, Caribou, Fort Kent and Houlton. Play starts Thursday and continues until Saturday.

Marshall is going into his 23rd year as the Madawaska girls coach.

The Owls were 7-6-1 and earned the No. 6 seed for the tournament, where they had a fine run in postseason. Madawaska beat No. 11 Limestone 3-2 in the Eastern Maine Class C prelims, then knocked off No. 3 Penquis of Milo 2-1 on penalty kicks in the quarterfinal round before losing 1-0 to Houlton in penalty kicks in the semis.

“I think we’ll be competitive in Class C,” Marshall said of this year’s prospects. “We lost a handful of good seniors but the girls have been working a lot on their own this summer.”

Coaching courses available

High school coaches who need courses to maintain or gain eligibility can find information at the American Sport Education Program web site.

The NFHS Coaching Principles Course is available at www.asep.com through Jan. 1, 2005. The cost is approximately $95.

The NFHS Sport First Aid Course is available at www.asep.com. The cost is also approximately $95.

Coaches may take the NFHS course to satisfy the first aid requirement or take an equivalent course such as one that is being hosted by Bonny Eagle High in Standish on Aug. 11. The first aid/CPR course will satisfy the Maine Principals’ Association coaching certification requirements and is open to all interested individuals.

The course will start at 9 a.m. The first aid section costs $5, the CPR section is $10 and the two together are $15. For more information contact Gary Stevens at 642-9080.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2005, the UMO/MCSC Coaching Eligibility Course will be available. The cost will be $40.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.