Stolen Seasons and Leavitt Football

The reaction to COVID and how to build a football program

If you're following softball at all, you probably noticed that the MPA's Heal Points site got all wonky all of a sudden. Games are missing (but also not missing?). It's all weird.

The Heals on the site are in considerably better shape. There's some missing games and weird schedule quirks, but it's working! If I'm missing a score, let me know.

You can also see updated rankings for baseball, softball, and lacrosse.

Well this is cool.

Congratulations to Magic and St. Paul’s 6’8 2025 Landon Clark on being selected for NBA Top 100 Camp! Landon will head to Orlando June 8-13 for one of the most prestigious camp’s in the country! #NBATop100 #MagicFamily 🔵⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/3vVbj6PEo2
— Middlesex Magic (@MiddlesexMagic) May 13, 2024

This is a very cool thing for Landon, who was on the Maine United team that played so well at Peach Jam after transferring from Bangor to St. Paul's.

You might remember the NBA Top 100 camp from Cooper Flagg's performance when he was invited.

It's awesome that Maine has produced a generational talent and it's crazy to think that in the next NBA Draft Lottery, the big prize is going to be a kid from Maine. But, as I like to say, "Jimmy Chitwood can grow up anywhere." The real test is when we start producing more than just one outlier talent and Landon Clark's invite to the Top 100 camp is a sign that we're on the right path.

I'm determined to keep the podcasts going all off-season because I think they have potential (and I enjoy them), so if you aren't subscribed, there's 2 more for you to check out.

First up:

Legendary sportscaster Dave Eid and Thornton Academy AD Gary Stevens have teamed up to write a book about how the Maine sports community rallied to overcome COVID. And not just high schools. There's chapters on Beach to Beacon, UMaine, and so much more.

Gary joined me on the podcast to talk about the genesis of the book, but also about how the role of an Athletic Director has changed over the course of his career.

I enjoyed this conversation a lot more than the thumbnail of this video would have you believe.

There's a ton of great stuff in here if you're an AD or coach.

The book is well worth the read. You can purchase it online or at a number of bookstores around the state.

You can also listen on Spotify or wherever it is you consume podcasts.

Listen on Spotify

Much like a certain website started with one sport and has slowly expanded, the Maine Elite Passing Camp has evolved to include receivers, lineman, and defensive players.

Leavitt head coach Michael Hathaway came on the podcast to talk about that evolution, the process by which he built Leavitt's dominant football program, the value of assistant coaches, and a whole lot more.

This is a really awesome episode.

That conversation is available on Apple Podcasts and (of course) wherever you consume podcasts.

If you enjoy these, make sure you subscribe on your podcast platform of choice and if you can, leave a review. It helps other people find the show and all that jazz.

The next episode of the podcast will be a preview of the Pacers/Celtics series that'll go live on Facebook and Twitter around 7pm.

Tune in!

In a move that will surely be discussed rationally, the MPA has updated their transgender policy to come into compliance with a change in state law. I'll repeat that: to come into compliance with a change in state law.

Drew Bonifant has a really great story about the impact of this change in the Portland Press Herald, which you should absolutely actually read before you go into a blind rage about anything.