Oct 13, 2020 | Feature |
by Cassidy Delano, Contributing Writer
Women’s Basketball Coach Jamie Beaudoin promotes student athlete voting registration, as The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) set a 100% team registration goal.
The National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) and the WBCA set high expectations for their student athletes. They encouraged all coaches to get all their student athletes registered to vote. “It’s a new initiative put forth by these coaching associations,” Beaudoin said. “Not to say it hasn’t always been important, but with the presidential election coming up, and social media being so big, this information is easier to get out,”.
Beaudoin shared this information with his team, asking who was registered and offering aid to players wanting to get registered. Being registered isn’t something he requires for his team, but feels a responsibility to promote it. “I think the most important thing for my team is that they are aware of the opportunity to be able to vote, and that I provide them with the support they need to get registered,” Beaudoin said.
Chelsea Crockett, a junior on the women’s basketball team got registered to vote soon after hearing about the national goal. “Voting is important to me because it gives me a say in how things are run on a local and national level,” Crockett said.
Beaudoin sees the value in voting as well. “Democracy is not a spectator sport, if you are not registered to vote you can’t participate. So my goal, as well as the goal of the NABC and WBCA, is to get as many new potential voters to register to vote, making it easier for them,” Beaudoin said.
Molly Folsom, a Junior on the women’s basketball team, is still unconvinced about getting registered. “I can’t help but think the system is rigged,” Folsom said. “It’s about who has more money in their pocket, rather than actual democracy.”
Crockett feels that student athletes have the ability to influence the rest of campus, and thus makes it more important for them to vote. “ I think it is important that we all are registered to vote and exercise our right to vote. We are leaders on campus and by being registered to vote we are showing how important voting is and hopefully encouraging the rest of campus to vote with us,” Crockett said.
Beaudoin recognizes that sometimes people don’t vote because they don’t really understand what they’re voting for. “One thing that’s really difficult is that most people understand the importance of voting, but don’t know what they’re voting for. This becomes a road block for people,” Beaudoin said.
Folsom agrees that lack of political knowledge is a factor that holds her back. “I sometimes feel I don’t know enough about politics to make an educated decision during an election,” Folsom said.
Crockett encourages her teammates as well as other students on campus to vote. “I definitely think student-athletes promoting voting will help other students realize how important voting is. I think as a college student it is hard to feel like you have a say in how things are run, but this is one of the ways to show how important one vote, and one person, can be in influencing our elected officials and our laws,” Crockett said.
For more information about voting visit https://allintovote.org/.
Sep 29, 2020 | Sports |
by Ashley Clark Contributing Writer
Near the end of summer break, UMF made the decision to allow student athletes to participate in their sports season; however, these seasons have been altered to align with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.
The athletics department came to this tough decision after watching numerous videos and Zoom calls from the National College Athletic Association (NCAA), led by medical professionals.
The department is also keeping up to date with COVID-19 trends in Maine in order to protect incoming student athletes returning to school in the fall.
Julie Davis, Director of Athletics, worked with coaching and sports medicine staff on campus, in addition to attending meetings with athletic directors from within the sports conference. “You have challenges as a director anyway, but probably the hardest thing is dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity for a sustained period of time,” said Davis.
The athletic department was determined to develop a plan of action that would allow student athletes to participate in sports. They have also made it mandatory that all student athletes living on and off campus must participate in the early testing program provided by a COVID-19 testing company in the Fitness and Recreational Center (FRC).
Fall sports such as field hockey, soccer and cross country are not able to compete, but athletes are still able to attend practices.
The department has developed a month long process with differing levels of intensity for each week, with the intention for safe team practices.
The first week of practice involved routine temperature checks with no equipment use— conditioning exercises only. All practices must also consist of physical distancing at six feet, wearing a face mask and sanitizing when possible.
Jade Petrie, a junior and Early Childhood Education major, participates in both field hockey and lacrosse. Wearing her mask during her practices has been hard enough, even at the start of her fall sports season. “It’s really hard to wear because when you start to run, you breathe heavily and suck in the mask,” Petrie said. “It makes it almost impossible for you to catch your breath.”
Liz Ouellette, senior and Elementary Education major, is also a member of the field hockey team. Her last season has been impacted by the changes to the fall sports season. “There’s no team bonding, such as having dinners together, because there are too many people to be in a house. We can’t have bus rides, games, anything really,” said Ouellette.
The athletics department is working hard to assure that athletes are able to at least practice. Many are just grateful to even be able to participate with one another. “I think it is better to have something than nothing,” says Ouellette. “It’s my senior year and having practices with a team I’ve spent the past three years with is better than not being able to at all.”
Petrie praises all the department’s work and planning. “I’m thankful that they are letting us have an opportunity to pick up my field hockey and lacrosse stick, regardless of playing games,” says Petrie.
COVID-19 guidelines are changing continuously, which makes it difficult to predict how the winter and spring sports seasons will look for student athletes. While fall sports already have a plan in motion, winter and spring sports are still being discussed. Winter sports are scheduled to start practicing soon. The athletic department is “planning [these seasons] with optimism,” says Davis.
Oct 27, 2017 | Exclusive |
By Alicia Davis – Contributing Writer
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the UMF softball team had a game against alumni at the softball field. UMF softball beat the alumni team 3-2.
Coach Kat McKay, who will be entering her second year as the softball coach at UMF, felt that the game went well. “For the first year in many years without an alumni game, this
year was fantastic. I believe [the alumni] had an absolute blast,” said McKay. “They showed they still have all the skills to get the job done.”
Kailyn Hill, a junior at UMF and member of the softball team for the past two years, felt that the alumni game was very competitive. “We had a lot of fun. We had a back and forth game, so it was very competitive,” said Hill. “I pitched the first three innings, and then I played first base after.” This upcoming spring will be her third year playing softball for Farmington.
Alison Hamilton, a UMF alum, returned to play for the alumni team. She reclaimed her spot
in right field, where she played all four years during her time on the team at UMF. Hamilton’s favorite part about the game was getting to see her friends she met from softball.
“It was nice to see some former beavs, and reminisce about our time at UMF,” said Hamilton.
Eight alumni showed up to play in the game. “Because the alumni were down a player, the
UMF softball team leant us a player until Coach Pratt came in during the 5th inning to play for us,” said Hamilton.
The game was close to being tied in the end. The alumni and the UMF softball team felt both teams played well. “Our skills were equally matched,” said Hamilton. “We kept scoring back to back until we finally pulled through near the end of the game.”
McKay is looking forward to the spring season. “ I’m truly excited about this spring. We lost a handful of good athletes from our roster last year, but were able to replace and refocus with a large freshman class.”
Alyssa Dillan, a sophomore at UMF who will be playing her second year for the softball team this spring, is looking forward to what the season will bring for the team.
“I have high hopes for the spring season,” said Dillan. “I think that we have a lot of potential right now and I trust coach McKay will help us reach that potential.”
“We are selling pies to support our team to go to Florida in the spring,” said Hill. The softball team has an annual trip during the March spring break to Florida, where they will practice against other teams in preparation for the upcoming season.
People can support the UMF softball team by purchasing pies for their fundraiser. If anyone wants to purchase a pie, they can contact Coach Kat McKay for more details.
Oct 27, 2017 | Sports |
By Gavin Elliott – Contributing Writer
UMF’s softball team recently completed their fall ball season with a tight-knit scrimmage that pitted Beaver against Beaver.
The 2017-2018 Softball Team (L to R)
Top row: Coach Kat McKay, Justice Merrill, Alyssa Dillan, Tasha DeRoche, Kailyn Hill, Brianna McGrath, Kayleigh Oberg, Brittany Dugal, and Kalyn Grover.
Bottom row: Melissa Veitch, Amber Grady, Callie Hammer, Margaret Fogarty, Erika Whitman, Taylor Burke, Amber Raymond, and Abby Shields.
Not shown: Kylee Atwood and Hope Faulkingham
(Photo courtesy of Kiana Thompson)
After the scrimmage, UMF sophomore Alyssa Dillian said, “it was a great way to end the [fall ball] season because it was competitive, but also really fun.”
This scrimmage was just one of several ways to help the team bond. According to second-year Head Coach Kat McKay, “the purpose of fall ball is to bring together a group of people, some who have never met or played together, put them on the same page, and start to build unity in what everyone already has knowledge of.”
This especially benefits freshmen who have never had a chance to play with the softball team before. “I felt like a part of the team…I got to understand my new team’s personality,” said Callie Hammer, a UMF freshman.
UMF sophomore Amber Grady echoed her team’s sentiments. “It was definitely a learning experience for all of us.” Along with building skill and communication with the team, the players also learned about one another on a personal level.
Beginning last year, the softball team went on its second annual team bonding trip. This year, the Beavers went camping in Avon, Maine for one night.
“Last year we went canoeing,” said McKay. “It’s about getting the girls out of their comfort zones because they finally start to laugh together and let their guard down.”
Reiterating Coach McKay’s comment, Grady said, “[the camping trip] went really well, we all got to know everyone and see each other come out of our shells.”
Reminiscing about the trip, Erika Whitman, a UMF sophomore, looked at her teammates and laughed, saying she “loved when we sat around the campfire and bonded over pizza and embarrassing stories.”
Smiling and chuckling at Whitman’s comment, UMF sophomore Kalyn Grover added, “my favorite part was definitely watching the sunrise with my teammates,” said Grover.
After a two month break, the team will resume their hard work and practice at the start of the new year, followed by a trip to Clermont, Florida to compete in the 2018 Spring Games in March. Here, the Beavers will play a variety of teams from all over the U.S..
At the Spring Games, the team will not only be together on the field, but also staying together for an entire week. “I’m looking forward to [the Spring Games], being with my team again and hanging out,” said Dillian. “[We] really bond in Florida when [we] get to live together and get our first chance to play against others with our new team.”
Last year in regular season, the team’s only goal was to beat the previous year’s number of wins. However, the team “found so much success, it opened some of the other team’s eyes to UMF being a contender,” said McKay.
Looking forward to the upcoming season, Dillian said, “it will take some work to get to where we left off last season, but I think we are capable of repeating what we did last year, even with our young team.”
Although there is uncertainty about how this year’s team will perform in the spring season, one thing is clear: the team is looking forward to picking up their gloves and bats to prove themselves on the field once again.
