HODGDON, Maine — For the second time in two years, the Hodgdon boys soccer team has a new head coach.
Robbie Smith has taken the reins of the varsity boys team, replacing Sarah Williams who led the Hawks for one season. Smith previously coached the boys soccer team for one season in 2009 and is the current boys basketball coach and a former baseball coach in the district.
Smith said he was eager for the challenge of coaching soccer and was excited for the new season, even though he missed out on summer soccer with the team. Smith was approved as the new coach Aug. 17 by the SAD 70 board.
“I enjoy building the camaraderie with each member of the team,” he said. “Each player has a different personality and it is a pleasure to learn from them about who they are and that I will be able to make a positive impact on their life during high school. (I enjoy) watching a player grow in the knowledge of the sport and in their physical ability to better themselves as they practice and play the game.”
He added he enjoys seeing a player accomplish something on the field that they may not have thought they were capable of or reach a goal they had set for themselves.
This year’s Hawks squad has a strong mixture of veteran seniors and underclassmen, which should bode well for the team. Members of the Hawks roster include: seniors, Jimmy Buzzell (striker, center midfield), Dakota Brown (fullback, halfback), Blake Woods (goalie, sweeper); juniors Dillan Buzzell (sweeper), Daden Palmer (striker, center midfield), Kyle Tidd (fullback); sophomores Wyatt Foster (left wing), Jacob Adams (fullback), Dylan Oliver (striker, center midfield), Nick Sherman (halfback), Bobby Ramsey (halfback, fullback) Dalton Wilde (goalie, fullback) and Seth Bartlett (fullback); and freshmen, Dylan Jurson (fullback) and Josh Palmer (stopper, fullback).
While coach Smith said he hopes all of his players will make an impact at some point on the season, his returning players up front will be thrust into key roles to start the season.
“Daden Palmer, Jimmy Buzzell, Wyatt Foster and Dylan Oliver all have the ability to play multiple positions,” the coach said. “They will receive help from their teammates to set them up to score or to set a teammate up to score. On defense Blake Woods returns from a year off and will work well with Dillan Buzzell who will be entering his third year as sweeper. Their leadership will help the new and inexperienced players improve on defense.”
His team’s strength is its knowledge of the game.
“Their past coach worked with them this summer and the transition to what I am looking for is similar to how she taught the game,” Smith said. “This team has six or seven players that can play multiple positions which will allow us to move players around as certain situations arise. Our defense returns all of the players from last year and adds to freshmen. They will be used to working together and the leadership will have more game experience.”
Coming into the season cold, without the benefit of playing preseason games, will be Smith’s biggest challenge early in the year as he searches for the right combination to deploy on the field.
“As we practice and play our early season games, I will have an opportunity to see where players’ strongest positions may be,” he said. “I am always looking for them to work on their touches. I am looking for strong crisp passes that lead to good scoring opportunities.”
Smith’s going into the season is to see his team grow both on and off the field.
“I would like to see each player grow individually in their ability to play the sport,” he said. “If each player at the end of the season can say that they feel like they are better then when they started the season, then we will have had success.”
The coach said he has high expectations for the team that finished 2-12 a year ago.
“We only lost a few seniors so we have the experience returning that could put us ahead of last year’s team that had a lot of freshmen seeing significant minutes,” he said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs but we will take it one game at a time and use each game, win or lose, as a chance to grow and improve.”
Hodgdon opens its season on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m. at Van Buren.
