Wildcats football team senior Co-Captain Dan Sheehan, #41, front right, leads his team off the field during a break in preseason training at York High School this past week.
Photo by E. Hirsch
Last year's Maine Class B and New England Large School Coach of the Year Wally Caldwell sizes up this year's York High School girls' soccer squad in preparation for defending the Wildcats' Class B State Champions title.
Photo by Robert Charlton
DAY ONE. Coach Jeff Smith has the attention of his players during the first day of York High School preseason soccer.
Photo by Tori Rasche
WARMING UP. This year's large field hockey turnout gets warmed up before taking stick to ball.
Photo by Tori Rasche
YORK - The outlook for York High School athletics is bright for this fall.
All of the coaches expect to field competitive teams that will help represent York High School in a positive light.
York's varsity football team will be led onto the gridiron by Captains Evan Wallace, Dan Sheehan and Cam Rodriguez. Don't let the word "led" fool you; Coach Randy Small emphasized the "team" mentality that he fosters in his athletes: no individual is above the team as a whole.
Small stated that the most important day of the season was the first day of practice. He elaborated by saying that the team only has time to "simply worry about today's practice", and that the old adage "one day at a time" is a key for success.
Small was pleased with the turnout in July camp, as well as the time spent in the weight room by his players. Small expects a roster of about 50 students this fall.
Although Small reluctantly proclaimed Wells as the team's archrival, he continued to insist that every game, and every practice, was of equal value; in addition, he maintained that looking too far ahead could lead to a diminished focus for the team.
Small said he believes that "We're a very young experienced team" and also described his athletes as "willing to learn" and "easy to coach."
Look for the team to make its mark in the postseason this fall.
Coach Wally Caldwell will have a hard time producing a better result than last year when his Wildcat girls' soccer team took home the State Championship and he himself was named Coach of the Year. But having graduated only three seniors off last year's squad, the Wildcats will definitely be among the top contenders in Class B again this year, along with Falmouth and Yarmouth.
Caldwell has named as captains Meredith Reid, Michael Schilling, Brooke Simpson and Chelsey Tewell. The Wildcats will use their familiar 3-5-2 formation, and Caldwell said he is still undecided on who will fill the hole at center back left by two-time MVP Kate Rasche.
"There are five or six players who are possibilities; we'll just keep looking at them as we play through the preseason and see who steps up," he said. "It's a big hole to fill."
An early season tournament at Epping, N.H., followed by a preseason contest with Gorham should give Caldwell and his team a good preview of the season to come.
"We'll score a lot of goals, no question," he said. "The big ‘if' is how strong are we going to be in the back?"
The boys' soccer team will hit the pitch under the guidance of Coach Jeff Smith. Calvin Ramus, Sam Rasche, Mike Cline and Pat Seaward have been named captains of this year's team. There are a total of 11 seniors on the team this year.
Smith was pleased with the off-season work his team put in over the summer. He stated that when "incoming freshman show up" to attend pick up summer games it showed "our overall depth," adding he is "proud of a lot of the work these guys have put in over the summer."
Smith expects to keep roughly 20 to 22 players from the 55 trying out for the varsity squad, and the rest will play for the JV team.
Smith is adamant about the fact that York has the "toughest schedule in the state," including eight games against Yarmouth, Falmouth, Greeley and Cape Elizabeth. Despite this challenge, he stated that the team had a "good solid group of seniors returning" accompanied by a "good mix of young players."
Expect the boys' soccer squad to be a competitive force in the playoffs, and be sure to attend the most pivotal home game on Sept. 16 against Falmouth at 6 p.m.
Field hockey Captains Linnie Blais, Danielle Clement and Anna-Claire Pierce will be leading a team that has worked hard in the off-season this fall.
Coach Barbara Marois explained, "We started a summer league this year with games against other towns and that was a great chance for the girls to play in competitive situations while preparing for the season, and I think the girls that participated in that will benefit from that."
This off-season training will surely aid the girls when they cross paths with Wells, Falmouth and Greeley, which are figured to be the greatest tests for the team.
Marois is enthusiastic about the high number of returning seniors this year and "a good nucleus of returning players from the team last year" and said the team "will be working hard to get back to the tournament."
Cheer on the Wildcats on Sept. 6 at noon at the season home-opener against Cape Elizabeth.
Captains Brian Farrell and Jimmy Kennedy will be leading the boys' cross-country team this fall. Coach Ted Hutch explained that the team is aiming to "train for states, qualify for states and win states" this season.
Alex Moser, Dan Herbein, Tristan Palhof, Brian Farrell, Jim Kennedy, Mike Lapointe and Josh Herbein are the projected top seven - or "scoring" - runners this season. Hutch also pointed out that senior Stuart Mason "has been taking more of a leadership role this summer" and also that he is likely to break into the squad of top 10 runners during the season.
Hutch expects a roster of between 40 and 50 students to participate this season, and the flood of runners are setting their sights on defeating rivals Greeley, Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth.
Only slightly smaller than the boys' team, the girls' cross-country team roster is anticipated to number between 25 and 30 athletes.
According to Coach Candace Jaffe, the girls have been training hard and "holding captain's practices since early July."
Molly Carl, Michaela Swiatek, Monique Boutin, Reaha Goyetche, Kirsten Dean, Maggie Foster, Ali Swietek and newcomer Elizabeth Ferland should be primary scoring runners.
Carl, Boutin and Goyetche have been chosen as captains for the team.
Jaffe anticipates that the team will be competitive this year.
"We are hopeful to remain in the upper tier of teams in the state and will do our best to earn another trip to New England's," she explained, adding that "keeping everyone healthy, happy and injury-free is paramount to our success."
The runners will look to compete with the formidable teams of Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Fryeburg and Freeport in the postseason.
Sept. 19 is the date for the York home meet. Be sure to show your support for both the cross-country teams at the race.
For sports schedules for the season, visit www.yorkschools.org and follow the link to York High School.
Steve Rasche contributed to this report.
