NEW SWEDEN, Maine — The founder of the first private physical therapy practice in Aroostook County is one of three inductees from the northern region entering into the Maine Sports Hall of Legends.
Mark Rossignol, a 1980 graduate of Van Buren District High School, resides in New Sweden. He established County Physical Therapy in 1987 and the business has grown to five clinics in Aroostook County and employs physical therapists, occupational therapists and athletic trainers.
Through athletic training relationships with many local schools, Rossignol and his CPT team are heavily involved in high school athletic programs.
“He offers clinics for schools and coaches with invaluable preseason training that enhances athlete performance, and helps keep athletes safe and healthy in northern Maine,” said Scott Walton, PA-C of Pines Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.
Steve Lapierre has coached soccer in Van Buren for the past 40 years. He said Rossignol “would always go the extra mile to make sure young athletes receive the care they deserved, regardless of if they could afford it or not. He didn’t give up on an athlete and anytime he was asked to do something for our school’s teams, as well as other County schools, the answer was always yes.”
Richard Ezzy, the vice president and general manager of CPT, said Rossignol often takes phone calls from worried parents in the evening or on weekends and he will open up the clinic or sometime make a house call.
“After an athlete has been injured, Mark builds confidence in returning to play by doing drills and exercises with them, frequently heading to the soccer field or basketball court, Ezzy said.
Rossignol said he measures his success “by getting people back on the field, back to work or just back to living their lives.”
Rossignol played soccer, basketball and baseball at Van Buren and made the all-state team in soccer his senior year after the Crusaders captured the Class B Eastern Maine championship. He went on to play soccer collegiately and graduated from the University of New England in 1985.
Rossignol served as a volunteer coach for junior high soccer and basketball for 10 years in New Sweden. Ezzy said the soccer team didn’t have a field to play on, so Rossignol “cleared and leveled acreage behind his house and built a full-size soccer field so they would have somewhere to practice and play.”
“The Rossignol Field of Dreams has since hosted many soccer games and tournaments for youth and adults and Mark always kept the field lined and ready for a game, and never charged anyone to use it,” Ezzy added.
Rossignol has participated in soccer leagues for over 30 years and is currently involved in men’s recreational hockey. In his spare time, Rossignol enjoys cycling and Nordic skiing. In 2010, he established “Fresh Trail Adventures,” a cycling touring company with trips to Vermont, Canada and Europe.
Rossignol resides with his wife, Tricia. He has three children and three grandchildren.
The induction banquet and ceremony is set for June 26 at the Alfond Girls and Boys Club in Waterville. Rossignol and the two other inductees, John Habeeb and Richard Cormier, and other inductees from the other regions of the state will be honored for their contributions to athletics in Maine.
Editor’s Note: This is the second of three articles featuring each of the Maine Sports Hall of Legends-Northern Region 2018 inductees.
