The options were clear for field hockey players at McAuley High and Waynflete: continue alone and risk not having enough players to field a varisty team, or combine forces.

The choices were presented last spring by officials at both schools. It took all of maybe 10 seconds for the players to decide.

McAuley and Waynflete have formed the first cooperative field hockey team in Maine. They will be called CMW and be known as the Flying Lions – a combination of Waynflete’s Flyers and McAuley’s Lions – and will split practices and home games on their home fields.

“It was an automatic yes,” said Molly Barr, a sophomore forward from McAuley.

After the schools fielded teams last season with few or no substitutes, the Flying Lions will have a roster of 22 – split evenly between the schools – and even play some junior varsity games.

“I thought this was a great solution to a problem that both schools were having,” said Stacey Sevelowitz, the coach of CMW and an assistant at Waynflete the last three years. “Having coached at Waynflete, I knew how passionate the girls were about playing field hockey. And if we could create an opportunity for them to keep playing, I wanted to be part of it.”

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The seeds for the co-op team were planted a year ago, during a preseason scrimmage between Waynflete and McAuley. Joe Kilmartin, the athletic director at McAuley, and Ross Burdick, the athletic director at Waynflete, knew their numbers were shrinking.

“We thought it might be a neat idea to explore the co-op team because we were so close geographically (about three miles separate the schools) and we were both hoping not to lose our program,” said Burdick. “We talked to our leagues and they were both in favor of it because you hate to see schools lose programs.”

After meeting with officials from the Maine Principals’ Association, the schools were granted the co-op team for a two-year period. The Flying Lions will play in Class B South, although they primarily will play a Class C schedule.

McAuley played in Class A last year and went 0-14. Waynflete was in Class C and went 4-10-1, losing in the Western quarterfinals.

“This is a perfect example of why the cooperative team policy is in place,” said Mike Burnham, an assistant executive director at the MPA. “It was good for the administrations at both schools that they looked at this as a viable option.”

Much of the preseason has been spent trying to develop chemistry – that intangible coaches say is vital to a team’s success – between students from two schools who might only see each other during practice or in games.

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“It is hard,” said Sevelowitz, who is the director of academic support at Waynflete. “Especially when you have so little time. Two weeks (of preseason) seems like a long time but really it isn’t.”

It was made a little more difficult because Waynflete is holding its annual Outdoors Experience this week, where students leave the classroom to go hiking, white water rafting or other outdoor activities.

“I think it’s all about providing opportunities for them to bond on the field and off the field,” said Sevelowitz. “We’re playing competitive games in practice where the teams are mixed. We’ve talked about team dinners. We’re creating an environment where they can not just play together but have fun off the field, too. That’s important. It’s a challenge. But they are getting along really well. It’s like they’ve known each other for a while.”

Kiera MacWhinnie, a junior goalie from Waynflete, said, “I think everyone is really open to each other and we’re all really friendly. I think after these two weeks we know each other pretty good just by playing and working out together.”

Sevelowitz said there are a lot of “name games.” She wants the players to know each other by name, not just by the color of the jersey.

“I try to pair them up with girls from the other school rather than someone they know well,” she said.

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Randall Seder, a junior from Waynflete who plays midfield, said it’s still strange sometimes but the chemistry is getting better.

“It’s different looking over and seeing a face that I don’t know as well as the girl who was there last year,” she said. “I think getting to know the way that people play is improving. The chemistry is promising.”

The mere fact they are still playing is important. And not just to the players on this team.

While McAuley is no longer playing in the SMAA, Portland Coach Beth Arsenault said this is a great move.

“It’s all about the sport itself,” said Arsenault.

“I know it’s much maligned because of the whistles but it’s a great sport. You want to keep kids interested in it and you want it to grow. It’s nice that both programs have a chance to grow back to where they were before.”

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Sevelowitz likes what she’s seen so far. She’d love to qualify for the playoffs. But more important, she said, “We want to grow the program as a whole.”

Kilmartin is just glad the program is still going.

“The most important thing is that the girls feel they can compete and have fun,” he said. “And the younger kids can learn the sport.

 


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