Windham High School volleyball fundraiser brings community together

By Matt Pascarella

It was a day of fun and community. Students, alumni and members from Windham and surrounding communities came out for a day of volleyball and for the first time in four years, the Windham High School volleyball program held a fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Windham High School, with all money raised going to WHS volleyball program.

The adult/college-age team Big Dig Energy of Windham
alumni Megan Fleck, left, and Cassie Fleck, Chad Mason of
Gorham, Camden and Chloe Marble of South Portland and
Lucas Pongratz of Raymond, display their prizes after
coming in first during Windham High School's volleyball
fundraiser at Windham High School on Oct. 15.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA  

The day began with seven teams and ended with one champion. In the morning the teams played two sets to 25; then were reseeded and, in the afternoon, played a single elimination tournament with sets to 15. It was Big Dig Energy who took home the gold, or in this case a $10 gift card to Dunkin. Big Dig Energy beat One-Hit Wonders 2-0 in the finals.

While the day featured a lot of competition, it was in a low pressure setting that was focused more on fun, playing the game of volleyball and spending time with friends and neighbors.

“The turnout was really great,” said Windham resident and Windham High School alumna Cassie Fleck, who enjoyed competing in the tournament. “Seeing the community come together; I know the parent’s teams had a lot of fun; it was really good to see the parents being a volleyball family.”

Gorham resident and Big Dig Energy team member Chad Mason said he’d never really played volleyball before, and the day was a great way to gain exposure; it was good.

“Volleyball is a very important sport to me. Today, I wanted to play, but I wanted to be with my friends,” said Windham sophomore Ethan Nguyen, who played on the team Volleyball Killers. “It was mostly a community ball thing; this is definitely something I would do again.”

Windham freshman Sydney Harmon, whose team were the Freshies, made up entirely of freshman said the day was a good way to help the community and raise money for the volleyball program at Windham High School.

Windham varsity volleyball coach Chuck Fleck said the goal was to have fun and play volleyball.

“Now that things are getting back to pre-COVID situations, I hope we will have more enthusiasm for the sport,” said Chuck Fleck.

Coach Fleck who has been running the Windham Middle School volleyball program for 12 years and has been coaching volleyball at Windham High School for three seasons said they need more volunteers for each program. He’d love to see a more formalized league at Windham Middle School. Coaches are needed at Windham High School as well.

“I hope that their experience with volleyball transfers over to real life situations and they can be better members of society because of it,” said Chuck Fleck. “Volleyball is very much a mental game, and it forces those that play to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time and develop skills that should help with adulting. Like other sports, volleyball gives a player a sense of being a part of a community. This year’s team is a tight knit one and I truly feel that they have each other’s back both on and off the court.”

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Chuck Fleck at WYVBA.Maine@yahoo.com or CoachChuck.WHS@gmail.com.<

‘Strike Force’ student bowling team dazzles on lanes

The 'Strike Force' bowling team gathers at Bayside Bowl
in Portland in January. From left are Jason McCarthy, Camden
Gendron, Zach Bernier and Lucas Littlefield.
PHOTO BY APRIL LITTLEFIELD

 By Matt Pascarella

In the summer of 2012, Windham student Lucas Littlefield was bowling with his family at Bayside Bowl in Portland.

There was a flier running a promotion that promised a bowling ball if you joined their eight-week bowling program for kids. Littlefield joined and became hooked and this was just the beginning. Years later, Littlefield and three of his friends Camden Gendron, Zach Bernier and Jason McCarthy started their bowling league “Strike Force” and would go on to compete in tournaments all over the state.

They have already begun practicing and preparing for tournaments taking place in 2021.

When he was 6 or 7, Littlefield was looking for a new activity after his karate teacher retired. A flier he saw promising a free bowling ball got him to join the Peewee bowling division for kids ages 3 to 8.

Eventually, he did get his bowling ball and although it was of lesser quality it was a driving factor in the forming of the “Strike Force” team years later.

Littlefield was already into the sport in elementary school when he met Zach Bernier, who joined the team in 2015. Bernier’s been interested in bowling for as long as he can remember.

The two then got Camden Gendron involved and a year later, he joined the team. Gendron’s grandmother introduced him to bowling and it took off from there.

Littlefield enjoyed bowling more and more and became immersed in the competition, his favorite part. Bernier said bowling always been something he’s looked forward to.

In 2019, their friend from Westbrook, Jason McCarthy joined and although they had never thought about being a team, they realized they could join tournaments because they had four people. “Strike Force” was officially formed.

“While on a team, you are competing against not only yourself, but your teammates and other opponents,” said Littlefield. “This allows you to have more motivation to do your best and try to better yourself for the next time you play together.”

Gendron said he wanted to join the league because it was something fun to do with friends on

weekends.

“My favorite part is just being able to spend time with my friends outside of school,” said Bernier.

The tournaments they’ve played in are very welcoming to all skill levels and feature bowlers from all age groups. Pre-COVID, they competed in travel tournaments once a month.

“The tournaments bring in kids from different bowling leagues all across southern Maine. The winner gets some scholarship money, a medal, and bragging rights,” said Bernier.

As they begin to start practicing, the pandemic will have an effect on play. They will have to wear face coverings and social distance. They will also have to monitor their health while playing.

They are planning to compete in the US Youth Open and Junior Gold tournaments in 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. However, all this hinge on what the virus does.

They are ready start bowling again.

“I am excited to get back to bowling because...it(‘s) a fun sport,” said Littlefield.

Gendron said they are excited to get back out there.

“I'm itching to get back out there,” said Bernier.

The boys are raising money to get to the tournaments in Indiana. They have an account at Patman's Redemption for those who would like to donate their returnable money. This fundraiser goes until July 1, 2021.  <

Gorham/Windham fundraising events benefit Special Olympics of Maine

The participants in this year's fundraiser

A huge thank you to everyone who came on Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13 to the Special Olympics of Maine fundraising events in Gorham and Windham. Because of their generosity and support, the Tip-A-Cop and Boot Camp-Cruiser Pull events were a huge success. The two events raised over $2000. Members from the Windham and the Gorham Police Departments, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office teamed up and held these two fundraising events.  The first event was held at Sebago Brew Pub and the other at New England Fitness and Athletics (NEFA).

On Friday a Tip-A-Cop event was held for the first time at Sebago Brewing Restaurant on Main St. in Gorham. This event raised over $1200 for Special Olympics of Maine. Those same officers did another first-time event at 8 a.m. on Saturday at NEFA on Commons Avenue in Windham. This fundraiser was a Fitness Boot Camp followed by a cruiser pull. 

The Free Boot Camp class was attended by 20-30 participants and ranged in ages from five years old and up! From the donations for the class, the raffles and the business sponsors, another $1000 was raised for Special Olympics of Maine. 

We would like to give a special thanks to: New England Fitness and Athletics, Sebago Brew Pub and Restaurant, State Farm Agent Nick Jobin, Casco Federal Credit Union, Cumberland County Federal Credit Union, SOS Towing for the use of cruiser pull equipment, Winter Kids, Hannaford Supermarkets for the fresh fruit, Naples Marina, Tractor Supply and Rave-X. 

These two successful fundraising events would not have been possible without the hard work of Tiff, the Events and Tour Manager at Sebago, and Nick and Travis of NEFA.

Baseball fundraiser to benefit Windham Little League and Windham baseball

By Matt Pascarella

Modern Woodmen of America in Windham will be sponsoring an alumni game and Little League home run derby to help raise money for the Windham High School varsity baseball team and Windham Little League. The goal of this event is to raise funds and support the baseball teams. The games will take place on Sunday, June 9 at Windham High School’s varsity field.

The morning will start with the alumni game at 9 a.m. followed by the Little League home run derby at noon. Modern Woodman will match up to $500 on all money raised that day.

For the alumni game, any current or former varsity players are welcome to join; it’s only $20 to be on the team. All proceed from the game go to Windham varsity baseball.

Organizers from Modern Woodmen; Ethan Petty, Zach Conley and varsity baseball coach Cody Dube all played baseball at Windham and are very passionate about giving back to a program that has given so much to them!

If you would like to donate, you can do so on the day of the event or send a check made out to Windham baseball, directed to athletic director, Rich Drummond and sent to Windham High School, 406 Gray Road, Windham 04062.

If you’re interested or have questions, contact Zach Conley at 207-838-0464.

Hope to see you on the field Sunday, June 9!

Softball Hit-a-Thon helps local teams

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham varsity, junior varsity and middle school softball teams held their annual Hit-A-Thon on Tuesday, May 21st at Windham High. Players raised money to purchase new equipment, team gear, uniforms, team gatherings, etc.

The Hit-A-Thon started a couple years back with former varsity softball coach Travis Demmons. Basically, each player finds pledges or a straight donation. The players then get ten hits while there is a defense on the field. They either get an amount per hit or a straight donation from someone. The goal this year was $6,000 and the teams raised close to $4,900!

Local businesses have also been supporting the teams. “Dairy Queen and The Ice Cream Dugout are great local businesses that sponsor teams and host fundraisers for multiple teams in our community,” explained varsity softball coach Fred Wilcox. “We had a fundraiser at Dairy Queen recently that helped our program tremendously! I can’t thank these two businesses enough for their continued generosity year after year. We couldn’t be as successful as we are without them.”

“It’s important to hold fundraisers because it gives us the opportunity to support local organizations while giving back to the people who have supported us over the past sixteen years we’ve been in business,” remarked Stephanie Roy, owner of the Ice Cream Dugout. “It gives us
a chance to connect with the community and provide a fun (and delicious)
way to raise money for their cause.”

“It gives us great exposure in our community and surrounding areas. We have amazing customer loyalty already, but more often than not, fundraisers draw in new business as well,” Roy adds.

“It was a huge success!” exclaimed Wilcox. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year and the ladies knocked it out of the park....literally!”