Bill Goodspeed, who guided the Falmouth girls’ tennis team to three consecutive Class A state titles as head coach, has resigned because of a move back to his native Michigan.
Goodspeed cited changing family circumstances and a desire to take care of his aging parents for making the decision.
“Falmouth High School is like family and the kids and parents are like family,” Goodspeed said Thursday when reached by phone in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “This is really hard.”
Including one year as an assistant to Sandra Stone, Goodspeed helped Falmouth extend its 12-year winning streak to 173 consecutive matches by going 64-0 during his four seasons with the team. The streak nearly came to an end in June when Goodspeed was at his daughter’s college graduation and Falmouth rallied to beat Lewiston 3-2 for the state championship after the Blue Devils held a set advantage in the decisive match at No. 1 singles.
A business executive, Goodspeed, 59, said he plans to look for a coaching position at the high school level in Michigan. He said he believes Falmouth assistant coach Lori Poulin, who took over in his absence in June, would be a fine replacement.
“I think she’s one of the finest coaches in Maine,” he said. “I hope she’ll want to take over.”
DEERING HIGH has rescheduled its football opener and moved two other varsity athletic events to other venues because its new playing surface at Memorial Stadium won’t be ready for the start of the season next week.
Deering was scheduled to begin its football season on Friday, Aug. 31, against Thornton Academy. The school is in the process of replacing its artificial turf field, however, so the football opener will be played at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Deering’s first boys’ soccer home game, against Gorham at 5 p.m. on Sept. 4, will be played at Maine Girls’ Academy. Those two schools will also play a field hockey game at MGA at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 5.
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