A girls’ basketball team consisting of eight Aroostook County players has completed a memorable and successful spring season.
The Maine Lady Lumberjacks, a 12-year-old and under squad made up of players from as far north as Caribou and as far south as Patten, played in five tournaments from early April until early June and captured titles in four of them. They won 14 games while losing only three times.
Team members huddle with Maine Lumberjacks’ coach Clyde Warman at the completion of one of their successful tournaments this spring. (Contributed photo)
Clyde Warman of Houlton is the coach of the Amateur Athletic Union team, which has been together for three seasons. He serves as the JV girls’ coach at Houlton High School and is an assistant coach on the varsity team that won state titles in 2015 and 2016 and a regional title this past winter.
He said the AAU team was formed following the completion of the Aroostook Youth Basketball League season two winters ago.
“My daughter wanted to continue to play so we hatched the idea of getting players together from the local [Aroostook Youth Basketball League],” Warman said. “We were just hoping to be competitive and not get blown out or embarrass ourselves, but the first year we won a couple of state tournaments and made it to the nationals and finished second. Last year we won another state championship and finished fourth at nationals.”
The Lumberjacks capped this season by winning its division in the Zero Gravity National Finals held in Boston June 3 and 4. The squad went 4-0 in the tourney and beat YES!, based out of southern Maine, in the championship game, 44-16.
Following the victory, members of the team cut down the nets, much like what is done after regional and state high school championship games in Maine, and then received a large team trophy that Warman said “was taller than most of the girls.”
Lumberjack team members are Camryn Ala of Fort Fairfield, Ashlyn Bouchard of Caribou, Izzy Brownlee of Patten, Anna Jandreau of Caribou, Madison Russell of Oakfield, Salena Savage of Caribou, Faith Sjoberg of Presque Isle and Drew Warman of Houlton.
“They compete with fierceness and with heart you don’t get to see everyday,” Warman said. “The one thing you cannot measure is how hard these girls play.
“And we always emphasize the team aspect. We don’t allow pouting and negative body language. The kids on the bench stay involved in the game. I preach that they are not here to play for themselves, but to play and sacrifice for their teammates,” he added.
The local squad had qualified for the national event after winning the Gold Rush Classic, a large Zero Gravity tournament held in Boston earlier in the spring. The team also played in two tournaments in New Hampshire and another in southern Maine.
“This season we changed our philosophy a bit,” Warman said. “Not only did we really try to concentrate on playing every other or every third weekend to give everyone a breather in between tournaments, but we decided to play mostly out of state and once even played up an age group to get the most competition.”
The Lumberjacks have practiced once or twice a week since mid March in either Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle or Dyer Brook.
Between the tourneys and the practices, it translated into a lot of time on the road, compared to southern foes who usually travel no more than 20 minutes for practices and “refuse to travel more than 45 minutes to any tournament,” according to Warman.
Warman praised the commitment of all the families and is thankful for the trust they have placed in him over the years.
“Anyone who has coached will tell you that being successful is as much about the families as it is about the kids themselves,” Warman said. “I’ve never been around a more dedicated group of parents and kids in my life and without their sacrifices, we wouldn’t be nearly as successful as we’ve been.”
Warman said the trips often included plenty of non-basketball activities in between games, as the group will eat at restaurants together and participate in entertainment such as trampoline parks, bowling, miniature golf and swimming.
He said what started out as an admitted selfish way to keep his daughter playing has turned into much more.
“We learn a lot about life at every game, every practice and every trip,” Warman said, “and these girls have forged memories and friendships that will stand the test of time.”
Editor’s note: Staff Writer Kevin Sjoberg is the father of player Faith Sjoberg.
