TOPSHAM — On Aug. 19, the familiar whistle and vocal leader of the Lisbon High School field hockey team, Julie Petrie, will be heard as she runs her Greyhounds through their paces on the opening day of fall practice.
New Mt. Ararat High School girls basketball coach Julie Petrie, center, directs Wednesday’s girls basketball camp in Topsham. Petrie made the move after coaching at Lisbon. (Bob Conn / The Times Record)
However, come late November, Petrie will be patrolling a different court when the girls’ basketball season kicks off.
Petrie is the new coach of the Mt. Ararat High School Eagles, replacing Andy Morris, who led the Eagles to their first playoff appearance last year in four seasons and compiled a five-year mark of 22-68.
“Knowing the incoming seniors, it made the transition to Mt. Ararat a lot easier,” said Petrie, who enters her fourth year teaching physical education at Mt. Ararat. “It is great to know your athletes and we have had a great summer. I am excited.
“This basketball job was an opportunity to work with the community, with the kids that I teach at Mt. Ararat.”
Making her decision was difficult, according to Petrie, with the bonds she has made at Lisbon pulling hard on her heart.
“I had been at Lisbon my entire career, and it was hard to leave and say goodbye,” Petrie said. “I had a lot of tears. But no big decision is easy, and you never know when opportunities will come up. You don’t know unless you try. You don’t know if it will go great or won’t. I wanted to take this chance.”
The mother of twin girls Addyson and Kamryn, who will both turn 4-years-old in September, describes herself as “feisty, intense, passionate. I want to light that fire in anything that I do.”
It is not unusual for Petrie to gather her Lisbon field hockey players around her and loudly fire the Greyhounds up, then at halftime calmly and gingerly reset her group, bringing smiles to their faces and confidence to their game.
Logistically, it is challenging coaching the Mountain Valley Conference’s Lisbon field hockey team. Petrie lives in Wiscasset with her husband Matt, works in Topsham, and on most nights has a 45-minute drive home after a Lisbon game or practice, making for a long two months during the fall and winter seasons.
Still, there was no thought of giving up her field hockey job, a Greyhound program that she has built up since taking over for former coach Mark Stevens in 2011. Petrie has led Lisbon to a State Class C title as well as several regional and state final appearances in her eight years at the helm.
“(Lisbon field hockey) is something that I want to keep alive and I am not ready to give up that head coaching position. As long as I have that passion, I will coach field hockey,” Petrie said. “It is hard, but something that is a part of me. You dedicate and commit yourself. As long as I can still manage to coach in Lisbon, be a mom and a good teacher, I will continue to do that. Matt is great. I have had a great community in Lisbon in helping raise the kids, and I have already seen that closeness here at Mt. Ararat. (My children) are a part of what we do, and they are awesome because of their smiles. The kids in Lisbon and here at Mt. Ararat are so welcoming. I think it is good for them to see this, and to be a part of a community in sports.”
Petrie has her sights set on keeping last year’s Mt. Ararat girls basketball success going.
“We want to build, build, build, and they have been great with me putting in my system. I have seen a lot smiles and the enthusiasm has been exciting,” said Petrie. “I would love to build and be excited to reach a confident goal. We can play with the teams in the KVAC (Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference), and I have seen that confidence from the players during the summer.”
On Wednesday, Petrie ran several SAD-75 youth players through their paces inside the steamy high school gym. An earlier week-long clinic had to be postponed, so this was her first chance to meet the public and the future of Mt. Ararat girls’ basketball.
“We had a clinic planned, but it fell through with the coaching change. I wanted to get my face out there, so we had this camp today. I want them to see that sense of community at a young age and to build that basketball culture here. We have their backs, and hopefully they will follow the older kids and come here excited,” said Petrie.
Still, Petrie has a few months to don her whistle at Mt. Ararat. Lisbon, coming off a quarterfinal appearance in field hockey last year, opens its season on Sept. 4 against Spruce Mountain.
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