Many sports fans have become accustomed to male coaches heading up female squads, but still fairly new to the athletic world are women coaches for male teams. But, that is just what Hodgdon fans will see this year.
Sarah Harbison Williams will be coaching the high school varsity boys’ soccer team.
“I have coached the middle school boys in Hodgdon for the last two years,” she said. “This year, the varsity team needed a coach and it seemed like a natural transition for me to move up with the boys I have already coached.”
Williams was hired for the job in March.
This will be Williams’ first varsity job, with all of her coaching background coming in Hodgdon at the middle school level, as she coached boys’ soccer for two years; girls’ basketball for a year and is heading into her fourth year this spring as the middle school softball coach.
Coming into a high school coaching position is tough, but add to it, you are a female in a male sport, which is very rare. It can be a daunting challenge to prove oneself.
“When I first started coaching the middle school boys I was pretty nervous … for one day,” Williams shared. “They are so down to earth, goal-driven and drama-free, for the most part. Stepping up to varsity made me a little nervous, but I felt comforted by the players I have already had. The upperclassmen have been so welcoming and we’re already meshing well. I have gotten to know them better and establish some rapport with them. I don’t feel intimidated anymore because they make it easy; they are great kids, they want to play soccer, and they want to learn.”
That’s where a coach is a coach, despite gender. Respect and hard work couple together to lead to success.
“My ‘big’ goal for the team is to stress the importance of dedication, determination and respect,” explained Williams. “I have high expectations of the boys and they know that. So far they have shown that they intend to exceed those expectations.”
Williams is very familiar to soccer and its strategy. She has enjoyed it as a varsity sport, as an educational tool and as international competition to recreational play. Williams played four years of varsity soccer at Houlton High School, a year for Bruce Nason and three under Sean Callahan. During her sophomore year in high school, the Houlton girls were Eastern Maine champions and during her senior year, Williams played in Italy with the Dutch Soccer Academy. As an undergrad at the University of Maine at Orono, she took a couple of soccer coaching courses as electives and played “lots of pick-up and intramurals in my free time,” she said.
Williams is also pleased to continue working with Wayne Quint, Hodgdon’s athletic director.
“It’s been fun going from Mr. Quint as my athletic director when I was a student-athlete at Houlton to having him as my athletic director as a coach,” said Williams. “He has not changed a bit, so I always know what to expect.”
The Hodgdon soccer season does not get underway until August, but Williams is all ready for the season.
“I am looking forward to helping the boys grow as a team and as individual players,” she said. “I have some personal goals for the team, and I am anxious to find out more about what their individual goals are. I hope they learn some core fundamental soccer skills from me, but most importantly I hope they learn life- long skills that come with being a member of a well-orchestrated team.”
The Hodgdon boys’ opening soccer game is at 4 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Washburn. They will play Aug. 29 at Easton before their home opener on Sept. 3 against Central Aroostook at 4 p.m.
