Athletics

FIELD HOCKEY FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

The 2021 fall sports season is off to an excellent start for our Foxcroft Academy teams. After a year of shortened schedules and different ways of playing due to COVID-19, all of our teams are back competing on the fields and courses around Eastern Maine with full schedules. As of the time of publication, all of our teams (football, field hockey, boys & girls soccer, cross country, and golf) are seeing success on and off the field of play.

FOOTBALL

GIRLS SOCCER

CHEERLEADING

GOLF BOYS SOCCER

CROSS COUNTRY

Keep up to date with all Foxcroft Academy athletics on our social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There are game summaries, links to pictures, and more. You can also subscribe to the Foxcroft Academy Films channel on YouTube, where several games and activities are uploaded or live streamed. You are never too far away from the Ponies! #rideonPonies #foxcroftacademyathletics

Newly-Updated Alfond Field Nears Completion Thanks to a Donation from the Town of Dover-Foxcroft

WHEN THE SITE for the new Jim Robinson Field House was decided, officials knew it would mean the end of the current varsity soccer field. With help from Foxcroft Academy Buildings and Grounds Department and the Town of Dover-Foxcroft, the newly updated Alfond Soccer Field is taking shape ahead of schedule.

The future home soccer game field is in the “bowl” behind our dormitories, and it’s being extended to a regulation length field with the help of donated loam from the town. According to Tom Nason ’80, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, this donation, along with contributions from several members of the Alumni Herd, made it possible to get the project done this fall.

“The soccer field was in good shape, but we wanted to make it fully usable, so the softball dirt infield didn’t hinder soccer players sliding on the field,” said Nason. “The only way to accomplish that was to lengthen the field on the other end, which meant cutting trees, flattening the area, building a retaining wall, and adding loam and sod. It came together much quicker than anticipated.”

Nason, along with Lucas Butler, Director of Facilities at the Piscataquis County Ice Arena, used their heavy equipment know-how to cut trees, dig out areas for the retaining wall, construct a driveway to the field, and lay sod that will allow for play this fall. The project was aided by FA alumni, John ‘JJ’ Dyer ’90 and Elwood Edgerly ’72 who provided needed services for the project. “It was truly a team effort to get this done,” said Nason. “We plan on moving the softball field to a new spot on Alfond Field, and with the addition of the retaining wall, it’s going to make a nice field even better.”

“Foxcroft Academy has been responsible for running the town’s youth sports programs for the last ten years, and during that time, they have allowed us to use all their facilities, such as fields and gyms, which has been really great for the community,” said Jack Clukey '88, Dover-Foxcroft Town Manager. “We had a surplus of loam and we wanted it to go to good use. This gift helps not only FA student-athletes but all of the youth that will use the field. It’s a win-win for our area kids.”

Our soccer teams currently use Oakes Field to host varsity games and they practice on Alfond Field. While some games will continue to be on Oakes Field, especially for night contests, Alfond Field will be a permanent and much welcomed addition for the program.

“We’ve been fortunate to have outstanding fields to play and practice on for years here at the Academy, and that will continue to be the case for years to come,” said Arnold Shorey, Head of School. “This donation from the town came at a needed time, and thanks to the quick thinking of Tom and Lucas, our student-athletes will have the opportunity to have another great field to call home.”

“WE’VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE OUTSTANDING FIELDS TO PLAY AND PRACTICE ON FOR YEARS HERE AT THE ACADEMY, AND THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE CASE FOR YEARS TO COME. THIS DONATION FROM THE TOWN CAME AT A NEEDED TIME, AND THANKS TO THE QUICK THINKING OF TOM AND LUCAS, OUR STUDENT-ATHLETES WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ANOTHER GREAT FIELD TO CALL HOME.”

ARNOLD SHOREY, HEAD OF SCHOOL

“HE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE ATHLETIC THAN ME AND HAD A LOT MORE TRAINING OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS OR SO. HE WAS A GREAT KID AS WELL AS A GREAT PLAYER. HIS GAME WAS VERY GOOD.”

CALEB FOCKENS, ABOUT HIS COMPETITOR ELIOT POTVIN

Tennis Star and Senior Caleb Fockens Finishes as State Tennis Runner-Up

RECENT FOXCROFT ACADEMY graduate Caleb Fockens had a high school tennis season to remember. Fockens was named the PVC Boys’ Tennis Player of the year. He never lost a match during the team season and was the state individual runner-up, a first in program history. He fell in the state final, his only loss of the year. Below is an excerpt from an article written by FA alumnus, Ernie Clark ’77, sportswriter for the Bangor Daily News about the state championship match. Great season Caleb!

“Caleb Fockens’ bid to become the first player north of Augusta to capture the state schoolboys' tennis singles championship this year, but fell just short.

The fourth-seeded senior won the first set of the title match, but second-seeded George Cutone, a freshman from Kennebunk, rallied to win a second-set tiebreaker and went on to a 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory in a 2 1/2-hour battle at Lewiston High School.” “George was going to be a tough out no matter what,” Foxcroft Coach Ryan Dankert said. “He wasn’t going to beat himself. Caleb had to earn everything he got, and George’s athleticism, his quick feet, and quick hands, may have ended up being the difference.”

Cutone and Fockens were the dominant players on the tournament’s 52-player boys’ draw. “I wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum a lot of the times [in the final], which just shows that I haven’t had as much tournament experience recently,” Fockens said.

Fockens and his family moved to the small Somerset County town of Cambridge during the summer of 2019 from Greenwich, Connecticut. There, he had reached the round of 16 in that state’s large-school singles’ tournament as a freshman and advanced to the quarterfinals as a sophomore. Fockens enrolled at Foxcroft at the start of his junior year, but did not play for the Ponies in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

“I had a lot of fun over the weekend,” Fockens said. “I’m sure I’ll probably be upset about the final, but at the end of the day that’s the game and it was still a great experience.”