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Hoffer’s High School Sports · Newsradio WGAN

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  Every Tuesday we get an opportunity to speak with
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  Michael Hoffer from Hoffer's High School Sports, getting a
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  peek at the Southern Maine sports season now that we're in
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  the spring officially. Appreciate you being with us as
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  always. Mike, how are things?
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  It's a good man, good to chat with you.
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  It is indeed good to chat you. So I actually had a question
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  lined up for you, which I have to amend a little bit if you
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  don't know. OK, no whatever.
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  So. I'm going to start with baseball
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  because of course I do. But I was looking through both
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  your reports, of course, are just the general box scores of
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  of our arch nemesis Greeley, which, you know, of course they
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  play great baseball And I do love seeing kids play good
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  baseball, but it does drive me a little a little crazy.
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  But I'm looking at these box scores, man, and it's like 17
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  runs, eighteen runs, eighteen runs.
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  They beat Brunswick 10. Nothing like they're just on
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  this run. And I was like, oh, Mike, is
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  this the greatest baseball team that has ever been assembled?
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  And then they stumbled a little bit.
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  They played they played Edward Little and they lost 10 to 5 S
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  So I guess my question for you was originally going to be like,
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  just how good is this team? And like, is this going to be a
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  repeat state champion? And then I guess amending that
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  question is, but wait, is there a little more to the story?
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  Yeah, I mean, they were certainly hitting the cover off
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  the ball to start. And, you know, there's no shame
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  in a Class B team losing to a Class A contender, I think is
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  one of several games in a row. And, you know, for my money, I
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  still think Greeley's A-Team to beat in Class BS.
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  We've got a long way to go, but certainly they're off to a great
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  start. And, you know, and you can
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  certainly relate to this generally, that the great
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  Greeley teams are led by their pitching staff and, you know,
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  they score enough runs to win, but usually it's their pitching
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  staff that shuts you down. You know, so far this year
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  they're just, you know, the ball right and left and scoring in
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  the teams every game until yesterday.
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  So it's a little bit different. I think they're going to get
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  tested. They they have a interesting
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  game tomorrow at home against Cape Elizabeth.
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  Hopefully we'll get it in. I know there's a chance of rain,
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  but you know, that'll be a good test because Cape loss are
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  opener to Freiburg and they've won every game since and that
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  rivalry needs no introduction. It's very similar to the
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  Greeley, Yarmouth, Yarmouth Cape, you know, these ancient
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  rivals. It doesn't really matter what
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  the records are. The games are usually very
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  close. So, you know, Greely certainly
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  off to a great start, but it's going to get tougher and I think
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  a loss early in the season isn't the worst thing either.
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  Bring them back down to earth a little bit, right?
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  I mean, they haven't lost a game in a while.
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  They were beating everyone easily.
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  So I think, you know, maybe that that's a good thing in the long
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  run for them do. You have a sense of this is kind
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  of an interesting question to ask you of how a program like
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  theirs is able to so consistently be at the top,
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  Because when you're talking about school and you're talking
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  about, you know, high school athletes and whatnot, I mean,
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  it's it's so it's so dependent on like, Hey, who lives in that
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  town in a given year? Like it's like the parents and
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  or do they even like the sport? And sometimes that drifts a
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  little up and a little bit down, but they've been consistent for
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  a very long time at the absolute top.
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  You know, how how does a program like that, not just them, but
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  others maintain that level of consistency over the years?
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  Is it like a specifically designed youth sports pipeline
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  that feeds it or like what what goes on there you think?
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  Yeah, I mean, I think it's two things.
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  I think definitely the the programs that are most
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  successful, you know, have have the strong continuity from the
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  youth programs right up to the high school levels.
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  And, you know, a lot of times the coaches at the lower levels
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  don't get enough credit for the job they do, you know, churning
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  out this talent year after year. And and really it's usually not
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  just the high school program, it's the whole youth community
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  program all the way on up. It's kind of on the same page,
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  you know, philosophically speaking.
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  So that's really important. And then, you know, you look at
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  a program like Greeley and they've had the coaching
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  continuity. You know, Derek Souls been there
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  since the turn of the century, won multiple state titles.
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  You know, he just wins year after year after year.
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  He's got a great coaching staff. You know, Bobby Anthony is is I
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  think in the Main Baseball Hall of Fame.
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  He was the coach before Soul and they had a lot of success with
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  the head coach, had a lot of successes and assistant, you
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  know, Miles Hunt was there for years as the pitching coach and
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  they had pitching greatness year after year after year.
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  So, you know, and it's no, no surprise, you know, you look at
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  the success Yarmouth had with Mark Halstead all those years.
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  So I think the continuity is, is key.
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  And and for Greeley, you just know year after year, these kids
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  are going to be well schooled. They're going to be be very
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  solid fundamentally, you know, it helps to have some great arms
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  and they would have a great pitching staff again this year.
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  They've they've just had some injury issues.
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  So that's a constant year after year after year.
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  And you know, they know when they get into big games, they
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  know how to win them, and more often than not, they do.
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  So let's talk about the rest of the baseball picture around
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  southern Maine here, especially in the next week or so.
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  Obviously a lot of big games coming up and we've seen a lot
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  of good games in the last week or so.
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  And I believe actually Speaking of Greeley, all right, you had
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  that. That was the athlete of the
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  week, was from that baseball team.
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  So yes, I was saw me their their junior who had the seven hits in
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  two games and also a pitch to Gem against Brunswick, you know,
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  pitched a shot out and he had the hit that induced the mercy
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  rule and that was a walk off. So yeah, he had a a a huge week
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  both at the plate and with his arm.
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  So tell me a little bit about what you're what else you're
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  seeing around baseball, you know, in the in the states in
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  last week and and going into this week.
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  Yeah, I mean, Class 8 S is kind of as we thought, you know, a
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  lot of teams are kind of beating up on each other.
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  And I'd have to say the biggest surprise at this point is
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  Chevres. They won three games last year.
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  They've already eclipsed that. They put up a crazy 38 runs the
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  other day in a win over Westbrook.
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  I'm not sure exactly how that happens.
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  You know how you can get, you know, I think the difference
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  with is the mercy you rule in baseball is you have to play 5
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  innings no matter what. Wearing softball games can be
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  over in three if there's a 15 run deficit.
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  But anyway, yeah, 38 runs in that one.
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  They rallied from A5 nothing deficit to beat Noble the next
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  day. They had that huge come from a
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  high win over TA to start. So, you know, they've really
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  been a surprise I think in the minds of many, which since Ryan
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  Cop took over and it's a program that's that just completely
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  turned things around. And it's not like they brought a
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  bunch of new kids in to speak of.
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  You know, they've got a couple additions, but for the most part
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  it's just the kids who have come of age and you know, success to
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  get success. You see this in sports all the
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  time. Teams have early success and
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  start to believe and then then, then things just mushroom from
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  there. So they're right there and then
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  you've got that. All the other teams, we kind of
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  thought so Portland, TA, Scarborough, Gorham, you know,
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  they're all going to start playing each other too.
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  So we're going to get some some good matchups here in the weeks
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  to come. And, you know, hopefully the
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  weather will cooperate there because I'm looking forward to
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  that. Did I see Mr. Hoffer, that
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  Chevris beat Westbrook 38 to 1? Did I see that?
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  That is. That is correct.
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  I don't think I've ever seen a score like that.
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  No, I, I, I don't either. And you know, like, you know,
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  like I said, I think, you know, a lot of that has to do with,
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  you know, baseball having different mercy rule criteria
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  than softball does, where, you know, 15 run deficit after three
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  innings in softball in the game, but you have to get the whole
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  full 5 in in baseball. And, you know, there weren't a
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  ton of walks. There were there were some,
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  there were some errors and just a lot of hitting and I guess it
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  was just one of those really, really bad days if you look at
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  it from a Westbrook perspective. Yeah, I guess so.
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  You know, interesting question to ask you.
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  What happened to Westbrook over the years too, Because they used
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  to have a very strong baseball program.
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  And when my older son was going through, you know, we used to
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  run into them and even Little League tournaments and stuff.
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  And it was just a buzz saw. And that of course has has kind
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  of tipped upside down a little bit in the last few years.
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  I know they had some problems with their program and some
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  coaching issues and a scandal or two here or there, whatever.
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  Is that really what ultimately has has kind of taken the wheels
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  off that program? Yeah, I think, I mean, it
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  doesn't take much when you when you have kids that are, you
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  know, no longer part of the program and for whatever reason
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  are playing and you have multiple coaching changes and
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  you know, they've got Andy Coulombs, the coach now.
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  He was a Kennebunk, had some success there.
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  I think it's just a case. It's going to be a little while
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  to get that program back you. Got to rebuild it.
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  Yeah. I mean, you look at what
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  Westbrook's done, though in other sports and, you know,
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  they're hoping to build on the momentum from football, that
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  unexpected state title. You know, basketball had a very
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  successful season on the boys side.
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  So, you know, there has been some success in boys sports.
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  I think it's just going to take a little while to get back to
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  that competitive level there in baseball.
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  Turning your attention to softball and what's been going
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  on over on that side, I know you kind of mentioned it in passing
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  with other rules work and whatnot, but what did you see in
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  the last week and what are we looking forward to this week in
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  the world of softball? Well, clearly Shevers has a
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  separated itself and you know, I think they were the favorite
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  coming in, but they already have wins over top contenders
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  Westbrook, Bonnie Eagle and yesterday Windham.
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  And you know, Addison Deroche is just continuing to set that bar
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  higher and higher. Really just amazing everything
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  she's done and she's still only a junior.
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  You know, she's a given up one hit, two hits and or none every
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  time out. 17 strikeouts yesterday and a decisive win
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  over Windham. So this service team that fell
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  just short last year looks like they they have what it takes to
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  go all the way. I know they still going to have
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  to beat Windham again. They've got a big test coming up
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  with Gorham on Monday, but so far so good.
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  They just look like world beaters at this point.
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  And in the rainy time that we have left, I'd love to ask you,
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  of course, about lacrosse, what's been going on over there
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  and what you've seen in the last week or two in there.
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  Because, you know, I think the last couple times we've talked,
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  you know, very early in the season, we're just starting to
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  learn some lessons and see some things kind of getting into a
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  little bit more of the heat of the moment now.
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  So tell me more about what we've seen.
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  Yeah, I mean, I think the big news last week was Thornton
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  Academy ending Wyndham's a long win streak when the defending
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  champs look really, really good going into the season and
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  started strong. But they went down to TA the
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  other day and the biggest regular season win for Thornton
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  in a long, long time. And I think that boosts them
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  right up the ladder up. But so far, Kennebunk, you know,
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  clearly the team to beat. They had a nice win at Yarmouth
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  last night, pulling away in the second-half.
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  And you know, they get it done offensively.
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  Defensively, they've lost. They've fallen short of a state
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  title the last two years. They're very eager to get back
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  to what they feel like is their rightful perch and they're
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  looking really good. And on the boys side, you know,
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  TA and Falmouth haven't really been tested so far.
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  I think clearly they're the two best teams.
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  You know, they're going to start having some tougher games as
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  time goes on here, but they they look really good game.
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  I'm looking forward to Saturday during in Yarmouth.
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  So I think are probably the next teams on the list there in Class
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  A. They're going to match up and
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  you know, for years that would have been an inner class game,
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  but now with the Yarmouth and Class A, you know, that's going
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  to be an interesting test for them.
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  So yeah, I mean, the best is still to come.
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  We still don't know exactly how good these top teams are.
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  I think just because they really haven't been seriously tested,
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  but that's going to change. All right.
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  I guess I already asked about Athlete of the Week.
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  So I guess the final question I have for you is just about the
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  Super 6 poles and if there's any, any news you want to break
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  there, but worth checking in on. We're going to have new number
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  ones in both baseball and girls lacrosse this week, so be sure
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  to check those out. Those will be out in a couple
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  hours. It's a tease if I've ever heard
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  one. Make sure you go by Hoffers High
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  School sports.com and subscribe so that that tease can be made
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  good and you can see that stuff ASAP.
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  Appreciate it, as always, Mike, Thanks so much for spending time
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  with us and we'll talk again next week.