Complementing competitiveness with benevolence

GUILFORD — Life for a high school student-athlete or coach has been consumed for generations by the pursuit of improvement that ultimately is measured by success on the field of play.

That success may be defined in many ways, from winning a state championship to merely being able to celebrate the chance to participate in a particular sport.

One other measure of success that has been around for generations but perhaps takes on more importance in these days of instant social-media critique and personal hardship are the opportunities taken to give back to the people and communities that support those athletic endeavors.

Whether it’s a team running collectively in a road race that raises awareness about breast cancer or domestic violence or 50-50 raffles designated to benefit a specific cause or nonprofit organization, the time and energy spent by players and coaches for charitable purposes may be one of the the more noteworthy byproducts of the chance to be part of a team.

Take the Penobscot Valley Conference, a mammoth geographic entity spanning six of Maine’s 16 counties that stretches from Greenville in the west to Calais in the east, from Fort Kent in the north to Searsport in the south.

Thirty-three schools make up the PVC, including local entries Greenville, Foxcroft Academy, Piscataquis of Guilford, Penquis Valley of Milo, Central of Corinth and Dexter.

Most if not all of the schools have a benevolent side that complements their competitive side — a different sort of teamwork.

PVC President Brian Gaw, athletic administrator and a teacher-coach at SAD 4 in Guilford, recently solicited information from member schools regarding their charitable fundraising efforts during the current school year.

“I told them even if your school only raised a hundred bucks let me know,” he said, “because somebody I guarantee you was very appreciative for a hundred dollars.”

While not all schools responded to his request Gaw said “a very good percentage” did, and those efforts alone totaled the significant amount of $36,876 that was donated to local, state and national charitable organizations.

“Not that anyone is looking for their name in the paper or prizes or awards or recognition,” he said. “I genuinely think people do this because it’s the right thing to do. It’s a feel-good thing and you know at the end of the day that you’ve helped somebody in a tangible way.”

Groups receiving funds raised by PVC student-athletes, coaches and schools include the Aliza Jean Family Cancer Foundation, All In For Addie, American Cancer Society, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center, Pennies for Patients, Relay for Life, Sarah’s House of Maine, Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance, and the Susan G. Komen foundation.

“I think this just highlights how powerful sports can be outside of a court or a field,” said Gaw. “This is just one more thing that’s not an athletic achievement but shows that athletes can have a lot of power to influence and help a lot of people they don’t even know.”

Gaw’s school has conducted a “Fill the Gym Night” each of the last three basketball seasons to raise funds for the Aliza Jean Family Foundation, which helps area families deal with childhood cancer and is named for the late daughter of a staff member at Piscataquis Community Secondary School.

Twice Piscataquis Community Secondary School has staged the event in conjunction with Dexter Regional High School, where Aliza Stutzman planned to attend and play basketball after concluding middle school before she died in 2013 after an eight-month battle with brain cancer.

Fifty percent of gate receipts, revenue from concessions, a 50-50 raffle and other donations all were contributed to that effort, with players from both teams wearing commemorative wristbands or special T-shirts and having pictures taken together before the game.

“It’s not a hard sell for anybody, it’s one of the easiest sells I have as a coach and an athletic director,” said Gaw of that event. “The kids want to be part of the whole and not just a piece of it.

“Once the ball goes up it’s obviously two teams playing ball but before and after they’re really united. Any animosity there is goes away because they all want to be involved.”

That also was true of more than 20 of the PVC’s basketball coaches in March when they converged on PCSS for the league’s second annual Coaches vs. Cancer benefit game.

Coaches from as far away as Lee, Millinocket and Blue Hill took part in the event, which raised more than $5,000. That total included $940 raised by the Foxcroft Academy girls basketball program during the season in conjunction with Cancer Awareness Week.

The Aliza Jean Family Foundation was this year’s recipient. Proceeds from the inaugural game in 2015 went to the family of Zak Mills, a middle-schooler from LaGrange and the son of Penquis boys varsity coach Jason Mills who successfully battled bone cancer throughout 2015.

The Penobscot Valley Conference is not alone among high school leagues in Maine whose student-athletes and coaches participate in myriad charitable activities. But certainly it is one of the lesser-known aspects of their involvement with their teams — and perhaps also one of the more important in the overall education of the participants.

“We do a pretty good job of recognizing athletic accomplishment in sports,” said Gaw. “Their names get in the paper, they get plaques and certificates and all-star recognition at the end of the season for athletic achievement and yes, we do have some scholar-athlete awards.

“But outside of that there are a lot of things being done to help others, too.”