WINSLOW — Steve Blood, who coached the Winslow High School softball team for the past three years and was the coach throughout preseason, resigned late last week.

New coach Beth Fisher, an assistant with the Black Raiders the last four years, said she took over as coach Friday morning. Fisher directed questions about Blood’s resignation to Winslow athletic director Carrie Larrabee. Blood declined to comment when reached by phone Saturday evening. Larrabee could not be reached for comment.

Winslow girls basketball coach Tom Nadeau resigned two weeks before Blood. Nadeau had posted a 76-40 record in six seasons at Winslow.

Blood has coached three different stints at Winslow, winning three state titles. His teams were 39-14 over the last three seasons.

Fisher, formerly Beth LaFountain, was a star pitcher at Winslow. She was Class B East Player of the Year as a senior in 2004, when the Black Raiders won the state title.

“I’ve worked really hard to keep this as seamless as possible,” Fisher said. “Obviously, it’s not an easy situation for them.”

Fisher coached the Black Raiders in three exhibition games Saturday, the day after she stepped in as coach.

“I think we (played) really well,” Fisher said. “The girls are really working hard.”

Winslow had only 18 players try out for softball this season, meaning the Black Raiders will be unable to field a junior varsity team. Blood, speaking to a Morning Sentinel reporter earlier this week for the newspaper’s spring sports preview section, said this problem is not unique to Winslow.

“Across the state, this is the trend right now,” Blood said. “We have at least seven of the teams that we play that are not fielding JV teams right now.”

Blood also said that at the junior high softball level, the eighth grade had nine or 10 players, and seventh grade had 15.

“The administration thought with nine or 10 eighth-graders, that wasn’t enough to field one team,” Blood said. “They’re combining the two, but it’s not an ideal situation.”

Blood and Nadeau are just two of several Winslow coaches to have given up their jobs for different reasons.

Larrabee recently resigned as boys soccer coach at Winslow. The school also recently lost baseball coach Kyle Gunzinger, who resigned this winter after being summonsed on charges of possession and marijuana and sale of drug paraphernalia. This past summer, girls soccer and boys basketball coach Scott Wood pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual touching of a girl under the age of 18.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

 

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