BRUNSWICK

It comes around every year, the time when high school athletes shake off the rust from the hot summer and hit the fields, golf courses and roads, preparing for the start of the fall sports season.

The fall is just the start, with the coming sports campaign the beginning of a 10-month odyssey that takes us through the autumn, the winter months and finally the spring.

For a sports reporter, the fall offers a new challenge, a time to begin to search for that team or teams that will challenge for a state title. For us, it is about shaking off our summer rust, with vacations coming to an end and the hustle and bustle of chasing 40 teams around the state beginning.

Man it is fun!

On Monday, we will head out … to the football fields to hear the crack of the pads … the sounds of feet striking soccer balls toward the goal … the ball bouncing off of field hockey sticks. We will slow down a bit in our cars as cross country runners begin their journey on the side streets, while golfers try to shoot low scores on area golf courses in the hopes of making the team.

If you listen closely, you might here the residual echoes of those legendary coaches yelling out instructions, getting on a player for making a simple mistake — the hopes of that mistake not being committed again.

I can remember Rick Renaud, longtime Mt. Ararat boys soccer coach, weaving through the lines of his players sweating it out as Renaud’s booming voice went over strategy and the importance of endurance.

It will be a bit sad to attend a Lisbon football practice and not see Dick Mynahan walking the practice field as his players go through two-a-day workouts. Yes, “the man” retired after 30 years of leading his Greyhounds.

Back at Mt. Ararat, we will not see the intensity of Sam Chard, or at Lisbon Brian Dube, both former girls soccer coaches who decided to step away from coaching this year.

But with those changes, we get to experience the new. For those of us lucky enough to be around Lisbon football for more than a decade, we can remember quarterback Chris Kates jumping on his teammates at Fitzpatrick Stadium after his Greyhounds won a state title. Now, Kates is the new leader of Greyhound football, beginning his first season at the helm.

At Mt. Ararat, Chad Kirk will look to lead his Eagles to girls soccer glory, while Jennifer Perron steps into the head coaching job at Lisbon.

Dreaming big

Another thing about the opening of fall sports is the newness. Everyone has a chance. Every athlete has visions of grandeur, dreaming of lifting the “Gold Ball” or the championship plaque. And, why not? Each team is 0-0. No one has played a down yet, fired a shot on goal against an opponent, or heard the gun to signify the start of a big race. We all have a chance.

We can and will look back, remembering the excitement of the Brunswick football team ending a 53-year championship drought with a 28-6 victory over Kennebunk at the University of Maine in Orono on a glorious November Friday night. Head coach Dan Cooper recalled the excitement of returning to Brunswick that night.

“I remember the parade upon our return and all the congratulations that we received from this town. The support was unbelievable. The town really was fired up,” said Cooper.

Now comes the hard part … getting his 2017 team ready for the challenges of defending a title. That can truly be unfair. A team that graduated 21 Dragons from that championship — talented athletes that played on both sides of the ball in several instances — begins the season with just two returning starters on offense and defense, and with a giant target on their backs.

“We realize that teams are circling us on their schedule, and I’m sure they will bring their ‘A’ game when facing us,” said Cooper, who is confident his Dragons are ready for the upcoming challenges, which begin with a scrimmage at Leavitt High School in Turner on Aug. 19 after the first week of two-a-day workouts. “Most of the things that we will do beginning Monday are the same things that we have done in the past. Plus, I have a good group of coaches who are ready to crank it up. I surely don’t think it will be difficult to motivate our players.”

There were lots of success stories last season. In football, Freeport advanced to the postseason and put a scare into Spruce Mountain in the quarterfinals. Lisbon went to the State Class D title game in Mynahan’s final season, coming up short in stunning fashion after a dominating first half of football.

In boys soccer, Mt. Ararat went 12-2 during the regular season, while Lisbon and Richmond both advanced to regional finals. The Richmond girls were back in a state title game (falling to Ashland in double overtime), while the other six teams in The Times Record cover area advanced to the postseason, with Brunswick, Morse, Freeport and Wiscasset each winning a playoff tilt. In all, all 14 area soccer teams played at least one postseason contest.

Morse, after years of struggle, made the postseason in field hockey in 2016 and will look to find more success this year, while the Mt. Ararat golf team had us on pins and needles as the Eagles came all so close to a state title. And Brunswick opened a new chapter, fielding a girls varsity volleyball squad for the first time.

So here we go, as the 2017 season begins. Who will rise? Who will win a state title? One thing is for sure, it will be exciting.

BOB CONN is The Times Record sports editor. He can be reached at bconn@timesrecord.com.