Originally from New York, I moved to Maine to attend college at the University of New England where I played lacrosse all 4 years. When I finished, I was looking for ways to continue playing the game I love.

I picked up box lacrosse for the first time in 2014, when I traveled to Ireland to work on getting my dual citizenship and trying out for the national team. Though I learned a lot, I did not make the final roster for the world games. Since then, I have continued to play lacrosse in all forms and try to take in as much as possible. The last four years I have been playing in a nationwide box lacrosse league. Unfortunately, the last two years I have been dealing with an ankle break suffered two summers ago, followed by surgery eight months later. I was not back to 100% until this past fall. In October, I attended a tryout in New Jersey for Ireland’s box lacrosse team; I was informed I made the final roster a couple months ago! I will spend time in Hanover, Germany this summer to compete in the European Lacrosse Championships. This is thrilling as fifteen to twenty countries will battle for gold!

This opportunity also means even more to me because Ireland is where my father’s parents were born. Both grandparents came to America when they were young to build a better life for themselves and their future generations. I was never fortunate enough to meet them, as they passed before I was born, but I feel like in a way, being able to represent this country is a way I can connect to them spiritually!

As far as the difference between field and box there are actually a ton. In field lacrosse, you have three attackmen, three midfielders, three defense and one goalie. The midfielders can play offense and defense so if your team has the ball you have six players in your offensive end (3 attack, 3 middies) and if your team does not have the ball you have six players playing defense (3 middies and 3 defensemen). Certain players on the field are allowed to have poles up to 6 ft long that play
defense in the field game. Another big difference is the goalies and goals in the games. In field, the goals are 6ft tall by 6ft wide. Goalies have a chest/torso protector, a helmet with a throat guard, and gloves. In box lacrosse, goalies are absolutely covered in head to toe with gear and they are also standing in a goal that is 4ft by 4ft 9 inches. Since the goals are so much smaller and the goalies take up so much more space, it is more important to be an accurate shooter when playing box as opposed to a fast shooter!

There are other differences as well as many similarities. Both have face-offs to start periods/quarters as well as face-offs after a goal is scored.

In box lacrosse, you play in a hockey rink with either a turf or hard, athletic surface. All players have the same length short stick. And there is a 30 second shot clock. Box Lacrosse is five on five with a goalie and all players play all over or at least have the ability to do so.

Because Box Lacrosse is played in such a tight space, stick skills end up needing to be even more accurate than when playing in the field where you can spread out. You will find that even the best field players in the world that play professional, play box.

This is something I will continue to train for and I am beyond excited to meet countless athletes from all over the world. It is going to be an experience of a lifetime. It is pretty neat to add onto the fact that a guy from Maine will be taking the international stage.

I have come to learn that this state takes a ton of pride in each other and people from “here.”

Maine State Credit Unions’ FEEDME5K to End Hunger in Maine, is more than just a 5K walk.  This event was established, in an attempt to bring awareness to food insecurity in the State of Maine.  The FEEDME5K brings out like-minded folks who wish to make a difference in their communities.  The hunger issue in Maine is sad and very real.  Hunger is not just about the poor homeless folks you see on the streets.  Food insecurity is EVERYWHERE.  It is all around us. It is in our neighborhoods, in our schools, our workplaces, etc.  Food insecurity does not discriminate and is invisible to many of us. 

I am passionate about the FEEDME5K and MSCU’s Campaign to End Hunger, for many reasons.  The main reason is my belief that NO ONE deserves to go hungry.  EVERYONE deserves the basic necessity of food, to sustain life. 

I am very blessed to work for an organization like MSCU, which sees the importance of helping the people in the community around them.  MSCU views the Ending Hunger work, such as the FEEDME5K, as equally as our day-to-day operations.  Honestly, the work we do to raise awareness and money for Ending Hunger is some of the most important work we do!    

An event like the FEEDME5K is a huge part of our efforts to raise money for ending hunger in Maine.  It is our largest fundraiser of the year.  One of the best parts is the fact that most of the hunger organizations we contribute to participate in this event.  They not only participate, but they challenge each other and typically end up raising $20K-$30K themselves!  The hunger organizations actually inspire the employees of MSCU to want to help even more. 

Participating in FEEDME5K, not only brings in money for the various hunger organizations, it brings HOPE. In difficult times, sometimes all we have is hope, to help sustain us, to never give up.  The people that choose to collect pledges or sponsor the FEEDME5K are also providing hope.  Even people, who stop in at the event and can’t afford to donate, are providing hope.  They are showing support and love and understanding and empathy for our neighbors in need, a gesture of simple human kindness. 

To me, the word hope means many things.  The obvious hope we provide is FOOD.  We are giving people H.O.P.E., or Helping Other People Eat.  However, HOPE means so much more, depending on who you are.

Hope is given to children in school, who may have their last meal of the day at lunch.  The afterschool meal programs and backpack programs bring these children HOPE; knowing they won’t go to bed hungry gives them hope.  It also brings them hope for the future, that their growing bodies and minds will be adequately nourished for the best chance for proper learning and proper behavior.

Hope is given to elderly housebound folks, our parents, grandparents, or neighbors who may have limited funds to pay for bills, heat, and medication.  The anticipation of a delivery from a meal on wheels program gives them HOPE.  A visit provides not only food for their bodies, but much-needed human contact to nourish their spirit and sometimes lonely hearts. 

Hope is brought to some of our homeless people.  HOPE comes in the form of knowing they will be able to step into a soup kitchen and get out of the cold for a warm meal on a frigid day.  This small glimmer of HOPE could be just what they needed to keep them going for another day. 

MSCU’s FEEDME5K, is a short walk, with a huge impact.  Participants in this event will be surrounded by smiling faces, warm hearts, laughter, and vibes of gratitude.  MSCU’s FEEDME5K is a true example of the credit union philosophy of, ‘people helping people.’

Sign up for the 2022 FEEDME5K

For more information visit MSCU’s website

I became obsessed with the mushing lifestyle 26 years ago.  What started out as a hobby turned into my very own crazy, beautiful life – a life that grounds me and at the same time sets my soul on fire!! 

Every athlete in every sport has focus, determination, and drive. Sled racers have all of that, plus another special team bond that is unlike any other. The bond I’ve formed with my team is raw, real, true, and full of so much love and pride it’s priceless.   

This is why I love the Can-Am 250. This race puts my athletes, who are also my kids, together to face anything and everything that is thrown at us. We are the most powerful and positive team you could ever imagine. It’s not about winning, it’s about conquering the challenge together as one team!  

The Can-Am is a 250-mile dog sled race with no assistance and no help from the outside.  It’s just you and your team, driven by your wit and your team’s instincts, and the dogs’ power and energy. A race where I need to think ahead and plan for anything and everything, even the unexpected or unknown. What will we need while we’re out there, dog food, an extra jacket, duct tape in case something breaks? Predicting what’s to come and packing supplies correctly is part of the challenge of dog sled racing.

I’m the planner because I’m the brains of the operation, right? Not all the time!! I have been the weak link more than once. At the start of a race a few years ago I stepped on the runners, took off from the starting line, and 50 miles on the trail I had a revelation. It became clear that I need to trust the dogs more than I do myself and need to listen to them and give them complete control to run the show. That was the same year we came into Portage (the first checkpoint ) and I thought, “no way, we’re done, this is too hard!” Then I walked outside only to see everyone happy, tails wagging as they jumped up, ready to go and with some serious power. This is why the Can-Am 250 is the ultimate TEAM sport in my book. We know each other inside and out. We know some of us are gonna have an off day but the team rallies together and everything works out! 

The memories we make at the Can-Am aren’t just on the trail. I appreciate the energy, kindness, and wonderful community that puts this race together.  So wonderful that after 14 years of coming here every year for the race I decided in 2020 it was time to call Fort Kent HOME. So the team (Outlaw Ridge) and I left NH and I purchased my home in Fort Kent. It’s incredible to be home and we’re looking forward to the Can-Am 250 even more this year!!

Maybe we will see you at the Can-AM sometime. For more information on Outlaw Ridge feel free to follow us on Facebook. Happy trails!

-Becki

www.outlawridgesleddogs.com

Follow us:

https://m.facebook.com/Outlaw-Ridge-102796796555976/

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” ~ Nelson Mandela

If you’ve gotten an email from me, you’ve seen this quote; I keep it in my email signature as a constant reminder as to how valuable sport is. Especially in a world and time when there is divisiveness at every turn. We need sport in our lives. It is a tie that binds us. Look in the stands at any sporting event and you will see hundreds or thousands of people who have conflicting worldviews sharing laughs, cheers, and sometimes tears, without a mention of their differences.

Everyone needs sport, which is why I love directing the Maine Pond Hockey Classic.

There is something magical about skating on a frozen pond or lake. Crisp winter air, the smell of smoke from a nearby warming fire, sounds of skates gliding across the ice, and sticks tapping, it’s hockey in the purest form. 

The sights, smells, and sounds of pond hockey are invigorating.

Traditional pond hockey is unique – keeping score is generally optional, goals are made from everything from benches to boots, and even the best skater can be stymied by a rogue crack in the ice. Combined with snow, rain, wind and whatever else Mother Nature can dish out – it’s hockey, but a long way from playing in a rink. There is something special about players coming together to play a game with few rules, no officials, battling the elements, and the score being kept is how much fun is being had, with an occasional bragging right on the line. 

This is the type of experience that brings people together.

At the Maine Pond Hockey Classic, we provide a little bit of formality, but just enough to keep everyone organized. We have 6” high boards – high enough to keep the puck from sailing away from the game, and some general rules – for safety and for those that are a little more competitive.  We use wooden box goals and have a scorekeeper to keep track of goals and let us know if anyone is getting out of hand.  While we don’t have a penalty box, I’ve given plenty of “adult time-outs” through the years.  We have several competitive divisions, but our fastest growing one is our Just for Fun Division… because [almost] everyone has to go to work on Monday. The simple fact is, there is almost no correlation between skill & enjoyment, making it almost the exact opposite of golf.  During most of the games I observe, the worst players on the ice are having just as much fun, if not more fun, than the best players on the ice.

The gameplay is just the beginning.

Between games, players huddle with spectators in the beer garden and around fit pits, laughing and telling stories about the glory days or that miracle shot that went in from the length of the rink during the last game. Even opponents that just got off the ice from a hard-fought game are now sharing a drink and finding common ties that bind them. Year after year I walk away from “pond hockey weekend” humbled by stories shared by players about how they have reconnected with friends and family, far and near, to participate in our tournament. Players that have stepped away from hockey only to be pulled back by the magic of the pond.

It’s hard to explain, I cannot fully encapsulate in words the experience that Maine Pond Hockey Classic provides but I do know that in a world where so many things divide us, this is an event and a game that unites.

Patrick Guerette is the Chief Operating Officer at the Alfond Youth and Community Center located in Waterville, Maine and tournament director for the Maine Pond Hockey Classic.  Proceeds from the Maine Pond Hockey Classic support the Boys & Girls Club and YMCA of Greater Waterville at the Alfond Youth & Community Center.

How Sugarloaf and Skiing Saved My Life—plus, join us for the 22^nd Annual Sugarloaf Charity Summit!

2023 is my 24th year of surviving breast cancer—and skiing literally saved my life. I welcomed 2000 in at Sugarloaf, as always, but I was minus 100% of all my female parts, thanks to my cancer surgery a month earlier and had my medi-port installed. I began my chemo in early January, and then went to work on our annual Sugarloaf fundraiser in late January—which that year was in the form of a Vertical Challenge.

I had been having some heart flutters, yet when the experts checked it out they said it was just a reaction to the chemo. So, the day of the Vertical Challenge arrived, and I was determined to ski as many laps as possible. I ended up with a group of young guys and I made it may goal to keep up. Every now and then my heart was really racing…. but I pushed through. I got 12 laps and the guys got 13. We all went in the lodge to record our laps…took off our coats and helmets…and it was then the guys saw I had no hair! They were all worried, but it felt good to still be able to ski and just be there. I continued to have the crazy heart flutters and my adrenalin was still pumping.

The next Monday, I went in for my chemo treatment, but my medi-port wasn’t working. Following many questions and tests, I went in the next day to put in a new medi-port. Before surgery, they x-rayed me to see what happened to my original medi-port. That was at 9am. I was awakened about 6pm with lots of hushed voices telling me to say calm and just breathe…then I heard the room burst into applause.

Guess what? The tube to my original medi-port had broken off several weeks earlier! The heart flutters I had experienced were the tube on a free flow through my veins, but it had been stuck in my heart. At any time, it all could have collapsed, and I would not be here today. But thanks to my day at Sugarloaf, the exertion and the adrenalin had pushed that tube entirely through my heart that day, thus saving my life. (Of course, they had to go in and fish the tube back out through my heart and out my leg.) Thank you, Sugarloaf!

Now here’s how YOU can thank Sugarloaf—and help raise a mountain of money to fight cancer. The 23rd Annual Sugarloaf Charity Summit is on Saturday, January 28, 2023.

There so many ways for YOU to support this amazing annual event benefitting the Dempsey Center, Maine Cancer Foundation and Martha B. Webber Breast Center. Please visit Sugarloaf Charity Summit or scroll below to learn more about how to participate in the online auction, Summit, virtual or in person. Hope to see you there!

• Sugarloaf Charity Summit Online Auction

Timing: Open now thru 9pm January 28^th, 2023

The Sugarloaf Charity Summit annual auction is now open for bidding online!  There are many amazing items on which to bid from now until January 28, 2023, with more being added each week.  Register as a bidder at: https://sugarloafcharitysummit.org/online-auction today to join in on the bidding action.

• Sugarloaf Charity Challenge

Timing: Open now through January 28^th, 2023

Help us towards our goal of covering 2,000,000 feet on Saturday, January 28! Be it vertical feet or distance logged on the snowshoe or Nordic trails, let’s come together to tackle these two goals.

We invite you to start a team or to contribute to the collective goal on your own! You can then choose to participate in the on-hill Sugarloaf events OR log your miles from ANYWHERE, as long as it occurs on Saturday, January 28, 2023. Check out our website for more details and register today at: https://sugarloafcharitysummit.org/Challenge.

• Virtual Charity Summit Celebration

Timing: January 28 | 5:30pm-7pm

Join us for a celebratory virtual evening featuring cameos from some of your favorite Sugarloafers. It’s a tribute to our community of survivors, an entertaining live auction and the highly anticipated raffle pull – all from the comfort of your own home! This event is free for all to attend, so please plan to join us by clicking through the link on our website at: https://sugarloafcharitysummit.org/virtual-celebration.

No matter how you participate, please know how incredibly thankful our three Maine-based beneficiaries are for your help: Maine Cancer Foundation, the Dempsey Center, and the Martha B. Webber Breast Care Center. Help us raise a mountain of money to help fight cancer in Maine!

For more information about the Sugarloaf Charity Summit and ways you can get involved, please visit SugarloafCharitySummit.org or reach out to Sadie Spivak at s.spivak@sugarloaf.com.

Sports has always played an essential role in my life. I am a graduate of the University of New England 2021 where I double majored in Sport and Rec Management and Business and Coaching. I am now an Account Executive for the Maine Mariners, the ECHL hockey team in Portland where I am so excited to continue my path in the sport I love so much. Since I started with the Mariners, a big initiative of mine has been to grow the involvement in youth hockey! Here is my story on how I got to where I am today.

Growing up on Cape Cod as one of only three girls in my youth hockey organization, I spent most of my youth playing with the boys. The two other girls I began playing with (at the age of 8) I am still lifelong friends with today. That is one of my favorite things about the hockey world – everyone knows everyone, and, in my opinion, is one of the best sport communities to ever be a part of!

My biggest mentor as a young girl was USA Olympic Gold Medalist, Colleen Coyne. When I was 10 years old, Colleen came to a practice and interacted with every single player. She even brought her Olympic gold medal. I remember being in complete awe as my mother took a picture of us together, it’s a moment I remember vividly, 12 years later. Not only did Colleen leave me completely inspired, but, as a young girl, she gave me hope there was a bright future for women who were passionate about the game.

Throughout my years of playing hockey there are several memorable moments that happened along the way. From traveling to New York and California for National tournaments, to scoring the first goal in my high school state championship at the TD Garden my sophomore year and getting the opportunity to play four years of competitive Division III hockey at the University of New England. Throughout my four years of playing for UNE I overcame challenging adversity, developed sportsmanship, exhibited respect for others always. I lived the heartaches of defeat, the adrenaline rush of scoring, and the feeling of achieving a victory with perseverance and hard work, together with my teammates.

I will forever be grateful for the lessons I have learned from playing hockey, both on and off the ice. The people I have played with, the coaches who challenged me to be the best I could be, the community of hockey runs deep, have all instilled values along the way. Anyone associated with hockey understands what that truly means. Now I have a job working for The Maine Mariners, continuing my passion for hockey where I am excited to go each day!  I owe hockey and all that comes with the love of a sport for making me the person I am today. It all began at age 8 and since then,  I have never strayed far from my love of the game.  Now I am determined to inspire, coach, and encourage youth hockey players just as  Colleen Coyne did for me!

Sport builds character. Sport prepares you for life. These are things you have probably heard before, and I agree with them wholeheartedly. I also believe that we should be intentional about making those connections for kids and adults alike and that sport can become a beautiful avenue to teach the very skills we can use in everyday life.

If I asked high school and college athletes, “What percent of your game is mental?” most, if not all, will come in somewhere between 60-90%. If that much of their performance takes place between their ears, how can we spend intentional time practicing those skills? What are those skills? 

If asking parents, “What do they want most for their kids in sport?” many will comment on things like “learning to work hard and persevere,” “learning to bounce back from failure or obstacles,” “learning to set goals and compete hard,” along with the typical things like physical activity and social connections or teamwork (I am going to park the “for a scholarship” parents for this blog post). So where in the practice plans do we teach how to bounce back from failure? Or how to set goals? These are the questions I have spent the last 7 years exploring.  

I grew up in Maine and sports have always been a part of my life. I was a four-year tri-varsity in high school, a basketball player at the University of Vermont, and have been teaching and coaching at the high school level since 2005. When taking a sport psychology course and a mindfulness and performance course at Boston University about 10 years into my coaching career, my mind was blown. These were all the skills and tools I wished I had as a college athlete. Mindfulness, gratitude, growth mindset, failure, goal setting, visualization, values, vulnerability, perseverance, etc. How and why are we not teaching them to everyone? 

I immersed myself in this work, wrote two books during a sabbatical year: Unstoppable: A Mental Training Guide for Fueling Performance, and A Strong Girls’ Guide to Being: Exercises and Inspiration for Becoming a Braver, Kinder, Healthier You, and then in 2018 I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. This is where all of my studying of the mental skills and my experiences on a team and in sport came into “real life” practice. Like the muscles of our body, the mental skills muscles I had developed and continued to train were strong. My attitude was one of gratitude (for access to treatment, proximity to Boston, the awareness to go to the doctor’s when I felt something was off, and so much more). My mindset became “I get to go to chemotherapy” not “I have to go to chemotherapy.” I broke up my treatments into quarters, like a basketball game. And, I am now in my personal “overtime.” 

After that year of treatment and so clearly seeing the direct effects of the work for myself and those around me, I founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to girls, SG United Foundation (“Strong Girls United”) with a mission to empower girls to be strong, confident, and resilient through sport and physical activity combined with mental health and wellbeing activities. 

Girls need more access, opportunity, and female leaders in sport (more on this in a future post). Sport is the ultimate place to have social connections, be physically active, and practice all of these other skills that one day, frankly, everyone will need.

Sport can be the pathway that provides a girl with what she needs in the present moment and creates opportunities to develop skills and tools for their future. That is what it gave to me and what I hope to give to the next generation. Our organization and our teams are different. It is not just another sports team. College female athletes around the country serve as the volunteer coaches and the mentors for girls using our curriculum. We blend physical activity with gratitude exercises; we teach sports psychology while mentoring kindness. We invest in our girls to empower them for life.

You are invited to check out the nonprofit organization at www.sgunitedfoundation.org

Individuals or teams (designed for high school age and older and for all genders) can enroll in Lani’s Mindful Performance Training Center

And finally, for information about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, visit: www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-month