Gorham wife, mother of two, entrepreneur, nonprofit founder and president, soccer coach, local reporter, volunteer and avid blogger Stacey Coleman didn’t have enough on her plate already. So she recently competed in the Mrs. Maine Pageant and is now looking forward to this weekend’s Pine Tree State Bikini, Figure and Bodybuilding competition at Westbrook High School. Oh, and she’s taking up semi-professional football as well.

Why, exactly, is Coleman, owner and executive director of My-FIT-24, tackling these new, tall orders? For two reasons, interrelated. Not only is she one to set herself extreme challenges, she’s also one to set them for others, as a means of empowering them and inspiring them.

“I have a happy family (but I want to be a better role model),” she writes on her blog. “I own a growing business (but I want to do better, and give more back to my employees and my community)…What I’m saying is: I could improve in many areas of my life. Could you?”

Coleman didn’t win the title of Mrs. Maine two weekends ago (Mrs. Saco did) – but that’s obviously not the point. Coleman aimed to push herself well beyond her comfort zone, and she succeeded.

“This challenge scares me more than the others…In all honestly, I do not even know how to put on makeup. My hair, well…ponytails are just easier.”

Her motivation for choosing this particular challenge? To a certain extent, she simply wanted people to see another side of her. She spends so much time coaching fitness – she loves it, make no mistake, and is particularly at home in gym garb: yoga pants, running shoes and tank tops – that she rarely wears a dress, and wanted to nurture that other side of herself for all to see.

“I am a woman; I like to feel beautiful, too. I want to prove that a person can be a strong, athletic, intelligent, beautiful leader, and that you don’t need to choose just one stereotype,” she says.

Moreover, she wanted to confront her fear of wearing a bikini. She’s a fitness coach, and indefatigably active, but she’s also a 34-year-old mother shouldering a lot of demands, so she’s naturally dissatisfied at times with certain aspects of her appearance.

“The word ‘physique’ scares me. I have a fear of flexing my glutes in front of people; I have a fear of showing off my ‘mommy marks’ in a bikini.”

She did it, though; she overcame her anxieties.

“I wore high heels, several dresses, an evening gown, and I faced my fears of wearing a bikini all at once,” she said.

And she did it on a stage in front of 300 people.

Next up for Coleman is the Pine Tree State Competition, an International Fitness Professionals Association Pro Qualifier to be held on Saturday, April 4. It’s another chance for Coleman to transform her apprehensions into strengths.

And after that, she’ll begin her semi-pro football career as a member of the Northeast Rebels, a member of the Independent Women’s Football League since 2004.

“This scares me to the bone,” Coleman writes. “I’m only 5-foot-2 when I’m fibbing. I do not even know the rules of football. I do not watch football. In fact, I am often guilty of nagging my husband when he does watch football. When my 10-year-old son plays, I just cheer, but I don’t know what the heck is going on.”

“The Rebels are looking great for the 2015 season,” says team captain and spokeswoman Alicia Jeffords. “We’re in a rebuilding year with a lot of new rookies and a great new head coach.

“Stacey’s on the roster as a wide receiver and defensive back,” Jeffords says of the rookie. “Playing football takes a lot of commitment, and being a rookie is a lot of work. The veteran players are looking forward to seeing what the rookies are made of when they take the field for the first time.”

The Rebels’ season opens on April 11 in Montreal, though they have a home scrimmage versus the Nightmare on April 4. The game will be played at Deering High School, and kickoff is at 6 p.m.

A Closer Look:

The Pine Tree State Bikini, Figure and Bodybuilding competition at Westbrook High School on Saturday, April 4, begins with prejudging at 11 a.m. and the finals at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $25 per person.

Coleman flexes at the Mrs. Maine Pageant, wrapping toughness and elegance in one bedazzled package.