WATERVILLE — Mary Beth Bourgoin, the Winslow High field hockey coach, boiled Weslee Littlefield’s high school career down to 10 all-encompassing words Saturday.
“She’s the kind of player you want on your team,” Bourgoin said after Littlefield, who graduated from Winslow High this month, was named the North team’s MVP at the McNally Senior All-Star Game at Thomas College.
The annual summer showcase features the best senior talent from last fall.
“To find the words to describe her is really, really hard because she’s that kind of player,” Bourgoin said. “Her field hockey knowledge was so vast. She kept her cool out there; she would do anything I would ask. She’s one of, if not the most, coachable kids I’ve ever had.”
The South won 3-0 behind goals from Paige Cote (St. Dominic), Paige Laverriere (Biddeford) and Brianna Doucette (Poland), though none of those goals came with Littlefield patrolling the center of the North’s back line.
But — as is tradition — nobody much cared about the result. The game is the perfect cap to the careers of more than 50 players, even if it comes almost eight months after the state championship games.
Aimee Adams of Gardiner, who will play next at St. Joseph’s College, likes having the game in the summer instead of the November cold.
“After field hockey this year, it would have been way too cold and snowy to play,” Adams said. “But in the summer it’s hot, and sometimes you don’t play in a while — like me. I played basketball in the winter and lacrosse in the spring, so I didn’t really play in between.”
Adams hadn’t played since Gardiner hoisted the Class B state championship trophy last Nov. 3.
“It was fun. It is kind of surreal but it’s awesome,” Adams said. “We have summer workouts for St. Joe’s and you have to get your stick skills in. I do that. But playing by yourself is nothing like a game, especially when you’re playing with the best players in the state.”
Unlike Adams, Littlefield has been working on her field hockey game with the travel program the Maine Majestix this spring. And unlike Adams and many other of the state’s standouts who will play in local colleges, Littlefield is heading to Ohio University.
Littlefield will report Aug. 10 for the first day of training camp in Athens, Ohio.
“It’s a big step but I think I’m ready for it,” Littlefield said. “They found me. My Majestix coach, Kelly Terwilliger, knew their coach and played with them. So it was a nice connection.”
Is she excited? Is she nervous?
“Both,” said Littlefield, who just competed in the under-19 regional club championships in Epping, New Hampshire, with the Majestix. “Being far away from home, that will be one of the biggest challenges. (Terwilliger) did a lot for me. I’ve gotten a lot better playing for her.”
Bourgoin recognized Littlefield’s talent at an early age, and said that even as as a freshman it was becoming obvious that Littlefield had NCAA Division I potential.
“I saw her grow up through rec programs and coming to Winslow,” Bourgoin said. “I thought, ‘This kid is going to go someplace.’ She was that natural at accepting whatever came her way. She definitely has the mindset, and the other thing about Weslee is that it was never about Wes. It was about, ‘What are we going to do as a team? We want to win and I’ll do anything for my teammates.’ It’s one of those rare things.”
Sophia Pompeo of Cheverus was named the MVP for the South team.
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