Special to the Pioneer Times
As the mounds of snow slowly melt spring is creeping around the corner. With the onset of mild weather comes the beginning of the new baseball season in northern Maine. Like most new seasons they are accompanied by a new set of coaches looking to lead their teams to the playoffs. In Aroostook County, teams are witnessing the birth of two new coaching regimes as the Hodgdon Hawks and the East Grand Vikings will be led by new coaches, Robert Smith and James Kendall, respectively. The two coaches are both looking forward to helping their new teams excel at the varsity level, and hope to achieve great success as they venture into the upcoming season.
Smith is heading into the season with a very young Hodgdon team that lacks experience with only one senior, but makes up for it in their quickness around the base paths. The Hawks have started their practice sessions much like the other teams in northern Maine, in the gym, due to the abundance of snow this winter.
“It’s been hard with all the snow on the ground, but we’ve been in the gym for two weeks trying to get in shape and stay loose by warming up the pitchers and catchers, and getting some hitting done in the batting cages,” said Smith.
When asked what coach Smith was hoping to achieve this year, he responded, “Our main goal is to make it to the playoffs. I’m not sure how long it’s been since we’ve won a championship, but we’d like to make a solid push in the playoffs and hopefully make it to a championship game, whether it be this year, or a few years down the road.”
About 25 miles south of Hodgdon, the East Grand Vikings along with their new coach, James Kendall, are preparing for the upcoming season much like every other team.
“We’ve been in the gym hitting off the pitching machines and simply doing some general fielding and pitching,” he said.
Coach Kendall seems to be happy with his team’s steady defense and claims that their hitting seems to be solid.
“We’ve got a steady nucleus of players, with about six seniors and a widespread group of underclassmen,” he added.
As the season approaches, coach Kendall is focusing on establishing a competitive pitching staff, and a solid defensive core. When asked what his expectations for the upcoming season were coach Kendall replied by modestly saying, “We hope to achieve about a .500 record which should ultimately lead us into the playoffs.”
