Ellsworth trying to educate and prevent athletic injuries

Injuries in professional sports have made waves across the national landscape this past week, but they’re not reserved for just those getting paid.

High schools athletes seem to becoming injured at a more frequent pace then they have in the past. For the second consecutive year in Ellsworth High School, a varsity soccer player saw his season end with a broken arm. Freak accidents occur on the field, but some of the injuries the small city on the coast of Maine has seen is enough to make for a second look.

Drew Myers has coached soccer at the junior varsity level at Ellsworth High School for 18 years, and he recalls injuries such as broken bones, concussions, and other physical harm while on the bench, and that only includes the soccer pitch. Other sports also attribute its own injuries compounding the problem.

“It’s quite a variety [of injuries], ranging from strains and pulls, they happen mostly in the beginning of the season before the kids are in shape or have gone through a lot of plyometrics. We’ve had a couple of arm breaks, one from a player one from a goalie. Some broken noses and some bloody lips as well too,” said Myers about the injuries he’s seen.

Sports in this day and age have definitely become more competitive, which can lead to these injuries, but also the emergence of travel sports teams, in addition to school sports, put added pressure on the growing bodies of these students. Laura Rudolph, a school physician at Ellsworth Elementary Middle School, feels that injuries caused within the season can be compounded with all the activities these kids play in and not getting adequate rest.

“High school athletes do not take the time to let muscles, tendons, and ligaments heal after an injury. Therefore, the same area seems to be weaker and they have problems throughout their season with the same injury. They are driven to participate and unknowingly they are sometimes causing more damage. The issue can continue into their college career,” said Rudolph.

Along with the physical play on the field, and the overworked student athletes, other issues can arise such as steroid use that can play a role in compounding ailments. Julie Hammer, a physical education teacher and former health educator at the high school, noted that the health curriculum detailed nutrition and strength training, but not much about performance enhancing drugs over the past years.

“[The curriculum] touched on first aid, CPR, along with mental, social, and physical health. Mainly just CPR and health on the physical side though,” said Hammer.

The Maine Principles’ Association (MPA) is the safety governing body for high school athletics and put in rules to help protect the students from any harm. Myers is opposed to the idea of headgear that was proposed years ago being worn in soccer, as he sees no positive effect, but thinks any sports with contact should require mandatory mouth guards, like soccer and football implore.

The MPA may implement that idea in the future, but for now it seems to be up to parents and educators to teach these student athletes how to take care of their bodies, and stay as safe as possible in their extra curricular activities.

Athletic budget cuts hit Ellsworth High School

ELLSWORTH, ME- A new proposed fee for students has been instituted to generate funds for athletics at Ellsworth High School.

The budget shortfall this past year made this new cost termed the “Activity Fee” more of a need than a necessity and was implemented at the start of this school year. Athletic Director for the Regional School Unit (RSU) 24, Jay Brown, feels that this fee was needed to continuing funding all the athletic programs.

“We were able to keep sports, and different kind of sports in this years budget by using the activity fee and the money that’s raised to keep the sports going,” said Brown.

Currently Ellsworth High School offers the sports of soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, wrestling, cheerleading, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, and a newly created football program that debuted earlier this year. Brown would not divulge numbers as to how far the budget shortfall was, but he did hint that the fee was helping to cover deficit.

Some members in the community feels this fee is a burden to those in a lower income bracket compared to others, and that an added cost is unjust since taxpayers already pay to send children in the community to school. The fee itself though does have stipulations for those who can not afford the five dollar fee. This stipulation is based on whether the student is on a reduced lunch plan, which would reduce the cost to a few dollars per sport. The stigma associated with a reduced lunch plan already has some trying to avoid it as much as possible though.

With the fee in place, some fear families might not be able to afford to let their children play sports. Also with this thinking comes the thought the athletics are a way for young students to grow individually and this may deter some from attempting extra curricular activities. Ellsworth Elementary School soccer coach Paul Lock feels that sports are very important to the growth of all children.

“[Athletics] build [students‘] character. If it builds their character, it makes them into a better human being not only in school, but out of school as well,” said Lock.

Though there are mixed reactions among community members, parents and teachers, it appears that this activity fee is here to stay at RSU 24. Ellsworth school teacher Mary Jordan, who is also a mother of a high school senior at Ellsworth, thinks that the benefits of the fee outweigh the costs and the program will be better as a result.

“I don’t think it’ll hurt the athletics, I hope that it stays. I think it is an important part,” said Carter.

The lasting legacy of the activity fee will be known in the years to follow, but Brown assures that athletics are not going away and will continue to be a vital part of Ellsworth High School.

“[Athletics] are here to stay. I don’t think there’s any question,” said Brown.

WMEB Sports reach partnership with Maine Sports Network

WMEB Sports, the official sports department of WMEB 91.9 FM, Orono, ME, has reached an agreement with the southern Maine based Maine Sports Network (MESN).

The partnership includes weekly content provided from WMEB Sports for MESN in exchange for advertising in the Portland area market.

WMEB 91.9 FM covers most of central and eastern Maine and is based out of the campus of UMaine in Orono. The sports department at the station provides the only commercial free coverage of UMaine athletics and is broadcast by students at the University.

MESN is a blog based website that strives to bring the state of Maine daily content about sports in the general area. The sports network encompasses many different sources including Pine Tree Pucks, Central Maine Sports Blog, MBR, and also the Sports Jab 96.3 FM, Portland, ME.

To read the write-ups go to MESN's website or click on the links below. Be sure to check back often for more content.

Black Bears maul #2 North Dakota in series opener

Maine - North Dakota Preview

Expectations high as UMaine Men’s side prepare for season

The Men’s basketball team’s annual Blue/White gave those in attendance a chance to see one of the most anticipated teams in years.

Ever since the heart breaking loss to New Hampshire in the first round of the America East playoffs in Hartford last March, Maine has been edging towards the 2010-11 season with great optimism. The Black Bears return four of their five starters, as only Junior Bernal was lost to graduation. Maine last season finished with a record of 19-11, and earned their third highest win total in the team’s history. Finishing the season tied for third with Boston University gave Maine a taste of winter sport success usually reserved for hockey, but this is year the Black Bears need to make the big step forward.

The scrimmage allowed the first public look of this year’s edition of the team, and also gave a sneak peak into the two lone newcomers to the squad. The first is Raheem Singleton, a 6-0, 185 pound point guard transfer from Monroe Community College. Singleton is a very quick player with solid ball handling skills that is looking to fill the vacated spot in Black Bear’s starting line-up. He also has a good three point shot and should be competing with Junior Andrew Rodgers for time at point.

Also joining the squad is Alasdair Fraser, a 6-7 forward that hails from Falkirk, Scotland. Fraser is a solid force inside that will give Maine some much needed depth underneath the basket. He played for Scotland in the European U-18 Champions where he lead the tournament with a 20.6 point per game average.

Along with the newcomers, fans were able to catch a glimpse of Maine bred Seniors Troy Barnies (Auburn, ME) and Sean McNally (Gardiner, ME). McNally, a third team all conference member will be the player at the center position for the Black Bears and is a force inside averaging 7.4 rebounds per game. Barnies also provides some size underneath, but also possesses some range from beyond the arch. Both will be influential leaders on this team.

The marquee player for Maine though is the San Diego, California native Gerald McLemore. Named to the America East First Team All Conference last year, McLemore averaged 14.6 points and started all 30 games for Maine last season. He was also deadly from three land, as he finished second in the country with 102 three pointers made.

Also expected to make big impacts for Maine are Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, ON) and Terrance Mitchell (Milton, FL). Burnatowski possesses the size to play the forward position, but has the three point prowess to make a perfect guard option. He was named to the conference All Rookie Team, and along with Fraser and fellow Canadian Mike Allison, he has international basketball experience playing for his countriy. Mitchell is another tremendous option to drain some threes for Maine this season and can also handle the ball if needed. The Senior transfer from Faulkner State Community College will also be big for Maine late in games as he’s a 77% shooter from the charity stripe.

Rounding out the rest of the squad are Allison and Svetoslav Chetinov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) who should be able to spell McNally and Barnies as big men off the bench. Allison also tipped in the game winner in the upset of Boston University in the waning seconds. Maine also has senior guard Malachi Peay (Queens, NY), UMass transfer Travon Wilcher , and Bangor native Jon McAllian to provide much needed depth to the line-up.


Expectations are sky high, as they should be, for Maine this season as they look for their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Sporting News recently picked Maine to win in their preseason rankings. The Black Bears aren’t letting the press get to them though, they’re just ready to get to the hardwood.

Maine will have an exhibition in Orono this Saturday against Cape Breton before opening their regular season at Utah Valley. The Black Bears will play some tough out of conference games against Maryland, Penn State, and Notre Dame. Conference play begins January 2nd against coaches’ poll favorite Boston University.
Blue/White Scrimmage Statistics- Points- Singleton (14), Mitchell (14), Barnies (9), Fraser (8), McNally (6), Allison (6), Peay (3), McLemore (2), Rodgers (2), Chetinov, McAllian, Wilcher. FT% 21-25

Bryan Stackpole is the play by play voice for UMaine basketball on WMEB 91.9 FM, Orono, Maine. WMEB can be heard on 91.9 FM and streaming on www.wmeb.fm. 91.9 FM is the only commercial free broadcast of UMaine sports. The first Men’s game on WMEB can be heard Nov. 19th at 7:00 p.m. against UMaine Machias.

The Morning For Bryan Stackpole

Here is how I wake up every morning and the daily routine that gets me through everyday. The first video is more of a music video with a song that correlates to the subject, while the second video contains natural sound from the events that took place.

How UMaine Students Enjoy Their Break

Whether it be catching up on sleep or homework, traveling back home, or just enjoying the fine bars in the area, the UMaine student body is very excited to have their upcoming Fall Break starting this Friday. These were just some of the reactions from some students on campus.

Five Things: Top Sports Facilities At UMaine

There are so many great places to go to at the University of Maine. Along with all the great academic buildings and dorms, there are some state of the art venues for athletics as well. With that in mind it only seems right to list the top five sports facilities that you can go to and use while at UMaine. Now here's the list, saving the best for last.

#1- Memorial Gym
The Memorial Gym has been a mainstay at the University of Maine for decades and features an indoor track, swimming pool, and full size basketball court and bleachers. The gym itself is affectionately termed "The Pit", due to the the players feeling as though they're playing with fans on top of them. Renovations to the gym will occur soon as they hope to complete the task by the fall of 2012. The renovations will cost over 12 million dollars and will gave both the Men's and Women's basketball teams their own place to play. It will also boast just over 3,000 seats when completed.

#2- Student Recreation Center
The Rec Center opening coincided with the incoming freshman class of 2007. The center boasts an indoor track, multiple basketball courts, a soccer area, squash courts, three weight training areas, and one fitness station that includes multiple exercise machines. All UMaine students are granted membership to the facility and it's paid for as a cost included in tuition. The Rec Center is the hub for most of the intramural sports on campus and is a great utility for students.

#3- Mahaney Diamond
Mahaney is the baseball team's home stadium and now features artificial field turf that was installed in 2008 and made its debut in 2009. The turf has enabled Maine to host home games earlier than it ever had before and also saves money on field maintenance costs. Mahaney Diamond also hosted the Bangor Lumberjacks in their brief semi-pro baseball run in the 2000s.

#4- Morse Field
Morse Field is one of the first football fields in the area to adopt field turf. The turf in fact has been installed twice, the second time to refresh from the wear and tear it endures. Since its creation, Morse Field has hosted some of the biggest games Maine football has played in. The field itself has enough seating for 10,000 fans and also has a collegiate track. Both the track team and football team play here.

#5- Alfond Arena
The Alfond, as it's affectionately known, is one of the most beloved places on the University of Maine campus. It can accommodate 5,712 fans and is the home for both basketball and the ice hockey teams. The Alfond has hosted two NCAA hockey champions and has recently gone under some maintenance to brighten up the facility. It opened in 1977 and now features a Jumbo tron and Pro-score scoreboard. The roof is also very unique due to its multi-angular design and is one of only three complexes in the country in the country that have this.