New coaches on board
to lead ’Cat ski teams
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Two new head coaches will guide a relatively young and inexperienced group of skiers for Presque Isle High School this winter.
Paul Towle takes over the Wildcats’ Nordic (cross country) ski team, while Doug Guerrette will lead the Presque Isle Alpine squad. And with no seniors on either squad, the future of the Wildcat ski program appears to be in good hands for the next few seasons.
Contributed photo/PIHS Athletic Department
PIHS SKI TEAM – Members of the varsity ski team are, in front from left, Jolanna Gough, Abby Carrier, Amanda Bennett, Shannon Sweeney, Chelsey Carroll, Freeman Short, Shea Brown and Shelby Condon. Middle row, Nordic coach Paul Towle, Kyle MacCallum, Emma Bartlett, Lauren Schiff, Gabe Player, Thomas Freeman, Courtney Colligan and alpine coach Doug Guerrette. Back, Jay Getman, Matt Sullivan, Aaron Whitaker, Mitchell Bennett and Jacob Towle.
“One of the biggest changes to the ski team this year is that we now have two separate teams, Alpine and Nordic, that comprise the one Presque Isle Ski Team,” coach Towle said. “The student athletes now can choose to focus their conditioning and training on either Alpine racing, Nordic racing or both as a Skimeister competitor. This should help each team, and in turn, the whole team to perform at a higher level during ski meets, especially during our state ski meet in February.”
Nordic squad ready for challenge
“Even though the boys team is young, there are some very experienced skiers on the team who will help the less experienced team members along,” coach Towle said. “I expect the boys team to be very competitive this season and we should place significantly higher than previous years at our state meet. The girls team is smaller consisting of only four racers and also has experienced skiers along with some that are newer to the sport. It is my hope that the girls will use the season to further develop their technical skills and conditioning; increase their passion for the sport; throw in some strong team performances later in the season; and recruit some of their friends to the team for next year.”
The Wildcat Nordic roster includes juniors Jacob Towle, Mitchell Bennett, Jesse Rochester and Courntney Colligan; sophomores Thomas Freeman, Gabe Player, Jon Rochester, Joel Shay, Freeman Short and Amanda Bennett; and freshmen Jonas Kinney, Lauren Schiff and Bonnie Corey.
Coach Towle has extensive experience in the sport.
“I have skied most of my life on different competitive teams including the Maine National Guard Biathlon Team while I was in college,” he said. “My love of the sport brought me to coaching six years ago when I saw an opening at Cunningham Middle School and became the ski coach. I spent four years as the PI Middle School coach and even coached the PI high school team one of the years they needed someone to step in.”
The unpredictable weather has proven to be his biggest challenge.
“I need to turn in practice schedules 7-10 days in advance in order to reserve buses and, during our dry land training phase, indoor training facilities,” he said. “The early part of the year is the most difficult because I can’t predict if we will have sufficient snow cover to ski so there are often last-minute schedule changes.”
Towle added the athletes are eager to get on snow, as there is only so much training one can do indoors.
Another challenge is juggling all equipment maintenance needed.
“Being the only Nordic coach and without equipment managers or assistants can also be a challenge to ensure that all the athletes’ skis are properly waxed and race ready,” he said. “It’s hard work and time consuming but extremely rewarding for a coach who is passionate about developing the sport in Aroostook County.”
Presque Isle’s Nordic team was scheduled to open its season yesterday morning with a meet at the Nordic Heritage Center.
Alpine group is eager to learn
With coach Guerrette, the returning skiers will see a familiar face as he volunteered with the program towards the end of last season. He succeeds Eric Hendrickson as the Alpine coach.
“I’ve done ski racing since about the fourth grade,” Guerrette said. “I grew up in Madawaska, racing for the high school team and I also competed with the Mt. Farlagne ski team, racing all around Canada.”
The Presque Isle Alpine roster features juniors Matt Sullivan, Jacob Towle, Aaron Whittaker, Jay Getman, Chelsea Carroll and Jolanna Gough; sophomores Player, Short and Abbie Carrier; and freshmen Kyle MacCallum, Shea Brown, Shelby Condon, Schiff and Shannon Sweeney.
Taking over the program has been both challenging and rewarding for Guerrette.
“I’ve always been a person who looks at the technical side of things and I try to apply that to skiing,” he said. “I have always enjoyed helping people improve on their skiing skills.”
While in college at NMCC, Guerrette worked at Bigrock, conducting ski clinics for various groups.
Not being overly familiar with the team, Guerrette said it was difficult to say which skiers were poised for breakout seasons.
“I think they all have strong hearts and are eager to put their best efforts forward to succeed,” he said.
Wildcats who will be competing in the “Skimeister” division, which means they will ski in both Nordic and Alpine events, are Towle, Freeman, Player, Short and Schiff.
The team was slated to open its season yesterday at Fort Kent, but has withdrawn from that meet due to the team’s inability to train on actual snow-covered slopes.
