Ian Wilson will miss coaching soccer, but the successful Waterville High School girls coach said that with his hectic schedule, “something had to give.” He has resigned to devote more time to his job as assistant indoor-outdoor track and field coach at Colby College in Waterville.
He will remain as an English teacher at Waterville High School.
Wilson guided the Purple Panthers to state soccer championships in 2008 in Class A and this past fall in Class B.
His teams won 25 state indoor and outdoor track championships at Waterville High School before he stepped down a year ago to take the Colby assistant track and field coaching position.
His high school coaching career began in 1992 with the Mount View girls soccer team from Thorndike, and he guided them to a Class B state title in 1996.
He coached the Messalonskee boys from Oakland between 1997-2000 before coming to Waterville in 2000.
“The hardest part is losing the relationships you form with the kids, the parents and the community,” said the 48-year-old Wilson. “But if you’re going to be successful as a coach [at the varsity level], you also have to be involved with the youth program.
“When you coach in three seasons, you have to be motivated and emotionally invested if you are going to do it to the level I want to do it,” said Wilson. “And that has gotten more and more difficult.”
He said he couldn’t have scripted a better end to his career than winning a state championship 1-0 over Cape Elizabeth on Lydia Roy’s goal with 38.1 seconds left in overtime.
“It was awesome. We went undefeated [18-0], we didn’t allow a goal during the regular season, and then [we] won the state championship. It was a great way to finish,” said Wilson, who added that he was blessed to have been able to coach a great group of girls.
Western Maine teams had won the previous 13 state Class B championships, including the 2013 title game in which Cape Elizabeth topped Waterville in penalty kicks.
The Waterville girls wound up being ranked No. 60 in the country by MaxPreps, the online high school sports service that ranks over 10,000 high school girls soccer teams around the country.
The team was presented with the Army National Guard national ranking at a school assembly last week.
They were one of just 10 girls soccer programs honored nationwide.
Wilson said he feels there is still plenty of room for improvement as a coach and is looking forward to that challenge.
Deering High names new football coach
Jason Jackson has been hired as Deering High School’s new head football coach.
“What impressed me most about Mr. Jackson is that he’s interested in the success of student athletes not just on the field but in the classroom and in life. He understands that is what is important and matters most,” Portland Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk said in a news release.
Jackson said the job is a dream come true.
“I’ve been wanting this job pretty much since I came to Maine in 2008,” he said in the release. “I can’t wait to start working.”
He said he considers being a coach an opportunity to “mentor young men to achieve their best in education, athletics and life.”
Deering Athletic Director Mel Craig said Jackson brings a lot of energy and passion to the job.
“He’s embedded in the Deering community. He lives right down the street. We see him at basketball games,” Craig said. “He’s involved in youth football. We’re looking at him to bring Deering football back to where it should be.”
At the time, Caulk told the BDN that Riddell was not coerced into his decision not to coach the final game of the season or not to reapply for the job next year.
Jackson becomes Deering’s fourth coach in four seasons. Last year’s team finished with a 4-5 record in East Class A.
Jackson is an ed tech at South Portland High School, working in a program for at-risk youth.
His coaching experience includes being an assistant football coach at Cape Elizabeth High School and also head football coach at Cape Elizabeth Middle School. He also is a volunteer football and basketball coach and was an all-state football player in Washington state.