Skowhegan, Maine is a town of about 9,000 located about 40 miles north of the state capital of Augusta.
Until about two weeks ago, the person with the most wins in the history of Maine high school sports held the job of head field hockey coach at Skowhegan (Maine) Area. That person is Paula Doughty, who has given 44 years of her knowledge and fiber to teaching young people the value of teamwork, sacrifice, and commitment.
The numbers are outstanding: she has won 644 games as head coach, which is, as far as we can tell, 11th in the recorded history of high-school field hockey:
1120 Susan Butz-Stavin
879 Laurie Berger
876 Linda Kreiser
839 Nancy Williams
794 Eileen Donahue
759 Karen Klassner
755 Sharon Sarsen
746 Angela Tammaro
724 Cheryl Poore
689 Matt Soto
644 Paula Doughty
641 Karen Doxey
641 Elvetta Gemski
632 Ann Marie Davies
630 Bob Derr
A fortnight ago, after the team fell one game short of winning its 21st state championship, the team was informed that Doughty was not coming back to coach the team in the fall of 2026.
We’ve seen situations in small towns where coaches are not retained in various sports. Invariably, stories would come out about how someone in school or athletic administration was responsible for the non-return of the coach.
Well, a video came out in the last couple of weeks, by Mike Violette of WSKW Radio in Augusta, which gives you pause. In the last year, according to the video, three other coaches at the school — accomplished coaches, mind you — have also been shown the door.
When you see that cluster of dismissals, what do you do as a journalist? Well, you take a look at the athletic administration. Last year, Brian Jones left the post of athletic director for Skowhegan high school, in favor of Nicolaus Wallace. All of the firings have occurred after Wallace took office.
I have not met any of these folks. But you do see a pattern developing here.
And it says here that when adults meddle in the affairs of young people, it never ends well.