Mike Carlos back at Houlton helm
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
Houlton Shiretown coach Mike Carlos doesn’t want to jinx his squad, but he feels they are coming along under a new system of play.
“I had absolutely no expectations coming in,” he said. “I came along out of nowhere. I knew no one. The first scrimmage I’m learning names as they are going out onto the field. I thought all I wanted to do was make them learn to pass the ball.”
The Shires are passing the ball and working together and proving to be contenders with a 2-0-2 record thus far and sitting third in Class C. They have tied Fort Kent and Madawaska and defeated Lee Academy and Hodgdon.
“They are doing good so far,” said Carlos. “But, it is too early to really tell. I was tickled that we tied Fort Kent and I was really happy to tie with Madawaska. It’s a building [block] for the kids. They are used to losing these games and then all of a sudden not to lose these games brought about a whole other attitude for them. I think they are pleased, just based upon, that they now know they are winners and that makes all the difference in the world.”
Carlos coached the Houlton Shiretowners in the mid-1990s.
“ A lot of the kids I coached, I am now coaching their kids,” he said. “It’s quite an experience and it’s been fun.”
For 10 years, Carlos coached at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. He was the assistant mens soccer and basketball coach; head womens soccer coach for five years; softball coach and head mens basketball coach. For the last five years, Carlos hadn’t coached any soccer until receiving a phone call and being asked to take over the Houlton program.
“They had no one,” said Carlos. “I was going to apply for the job, but I thought my schedule would be too busy. So far, it’s been good. The difficult part of coming back is I had forgotten how to stretch kids for soccer. I had to reacquaint myself to stretching young bodies again.”
Another part of the Houlton job that Carlos is enjoying is the fans.
“At UMPI you don’t get a lot of fans to your games, so you don’t get a lot of excitement,” he said. “In high school, you get the excitement back.”
Overall, Carlos is pleased with his players’ attitudes and the fact they have showed a lot of hustle on the field. However, there is always room for improvement on any level.
“I think they’ve done really well at learning the system,” he said. “It’s gone from a kick and run to [a more] passing style. They’ve embraced that.”
